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

First United Co. (NASDAQ:FUNC) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, September 25th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th will be paid a dividend of 0.22 per share by the bank on Friday, November 1st. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. 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 by an average of 14.5% annually over the last three years. First United has a dividend payout ratio of 22.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect First United to earn $3.50 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 22.9%.

First United Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FUNC opened at $29.76 on Friday. First United has a twelve month low of $15.68 and a twelve month high of $30.93. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.88. The company has a market capitalization of $197.87 million, a PE ratio of 13.84 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.09. First United had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 11.78%. The business had revenue of $27.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.34 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that First United will post 3 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of First United from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th.

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 transaction of $55,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 37,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,018,240. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 188 shares of company stock valued at $5,254. Corporate insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

First United Company Profile

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.