Empowered Funds LLC Takes $1.68 Million Position in First United Corporation $FUNC

Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in First United Corporation (NASDAQ:FUNC) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 38,112 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,681,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FUNC. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in First United by 3.4% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,105 shares of the bank’s stock worth $344,000 after buying an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of First United by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,208 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $191,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its position in shares of First United by 126.8% during the 1st quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 896 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of First United by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 11,672 shares of the bank’s stock worth $437,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of First United by 102.1% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,524 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 770 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.27% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First United news, EVP Keith Sanders sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.68, for a total transaction of $218,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 10,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $451,738.56. The trade was a 32.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert L. Fisher II sold 5,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.29, for a total transaction of $237,772.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $412,365.45. This trade represents a 36.57% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 280 shares of company stock valued at $12,816 and sold 11,250 shares valued at $500,752. Insiders own 8.10% of the company’s stock.

First United Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of FUNC stock opened at $43.94 on Friday. First United Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $33.54 and a fifty-two week high of $46.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $44.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $283.59 million, a PE ratio of 11.38 and a beta of 0.51.

First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The bank reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.08. First United had a return on equity of 13.69% and a net margin of 20.05%.The company had revenue of $65.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.55 million. Equities analysts predict that First United Corporation will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First United Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 20th were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 20th. First United’s payout ratio is currently 26.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on First United from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Hovde Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $49.00 target price on shares of First United in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First United in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of First United from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, First United presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.50.

First United Profile

First United Corporation is a bank holding company that, through its subsidiary First United Bank & Trust, provides a full suite of commercial and consumer banking services to individuals, businesses, and agricultural customers across central Oklahoma. The company offers deposit accounts such as checking, savings, money market and time deposits, alongside a variety of lending solutions covering commercial real estate, construction, agricultural and consumer loans.

In addition to traditional banking products, First United delivers treasury management and cash management solutions designed to streamline client operations, as well as online and mobile banking platforms for account access and payments.