First United Co. (FUNC) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.20 on May 1st

First United Co. (NASDAQ:FUNC) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, March 6th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 17th will be given a dividend of 0.20 per share by the bank on Wednesday, May 1st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 16th.

First United has increased its dividend by an average of 14.5% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 1 consecutive years. First United has a payout ratio of 25.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect First United to earn $3.20 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 25.0%.

First United Stock Performance

Shares of FUNC opened at $22.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $149.00 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.02 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $22.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.55. First United has a 52-week low of $12.56 and a 52-week high of $24.28.

First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.21. First United had a return on equity of 12.03% and a net margin of 15.12%. The business had revenue of $26.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.68 million. Analysts predict that First United will post 2.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of First United in a research note on Sunday, December 17th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First United

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FUNC. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in First United by 9.2% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 7,647 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $109,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in First United by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 11,521 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $193,000 after purchasing an additional 781 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC bought a new position in shares of First United in the 2nd quarter valued at about $283,000. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of First United by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,637 shares of the bank’s stock worth $330,000 after buying an additional 1,462 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of First United by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 22,318 shares of the bank’s stock worth $525,000 after buying an additional 2,195 shares during the last quarter. 33.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About First United

First United Corporation operates as the bank holding company for First United Bank & Trust that provides various retail and commercial banking services to businesses and individuals. It offers various deposit products, which includes checking, savings, and money market deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit.