First United Co. (NASDAQ:FUNC) Declares Dividend Increase – $0.22 Per Share

First United Co. (NASDAQ:FUNC) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, September 25th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be given a dividend of 0.22 per share by the bank on Friday, November 1st. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. This is a boost from First United’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20.

First United has increased its dividend payment by an average of 14.5% annually over the last three years. First United has a dividend payout ratio of 25.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect First United to earn $3.40 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.88 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 25.9%.

First United Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FUNC opened at $31.11 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $206.85 million, a PE ratio of 14.47 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. First United has a 12-month low of $15.68 and a 12-month high of $31.66.

First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.09. First United had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 11.78%. The company had revenue of $27.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.34 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that First United will post 2.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First United

In other news, Director Irvin Robert Rudy sold 2,000 shares of First United stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.52, for a total value of $55,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 37,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,018,240. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders acquired a total of 188 shares of company stock worth $5,254 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised First United from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th.

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, money market deposit, and regular and individual retirement accounts (IRAs), as well as certificates of deposit.