American Century Companies Inc. Purchases 35,521 Shares of First United Corporation $FUNC

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in First United Corporation by 65.2%, owning 90,008 shares valued at approximately $2.7 million following the purchase of 35,521 additional shares.
• First United recently reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.92 for the quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.84, along with a dividend yield of 2.4% following the distribution of a quarterly dividend of $0.22.
• Investment analysts have upgraded First United from a "hold" to a "buy" rating, with a consensus target price of $42.00, indicating positive sentiment regarding the company's future performance.

American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in First United Corporation (NASDAQ:FUNC - Free Report) by 65.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 90,008 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 35,521 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 1.39% of First United worth $2,702,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FUNC. Susquehanna International Group LLP raised its stake in shares of First United by 565.9% in the fourth quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 92,430 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,116,000 after acquiring an additional 78,550 shares during the last quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP raised its stake in shares of First United by 15.3% in the first quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 139,374 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,160,000 after acquiring an additional 18,536 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of First United by 102.5% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 31,246 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,053,000 after acquiring an additional 15,815 shares during the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of First United in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $529,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in shares of First United in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $524,000. Institutional investors own 33.27% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First United news, Director Irvin Robert Rudy sold 2,000 shares of First United stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.35, for a total transaction of $74,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 37,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,400,625. The trade was a 5.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 309 shares of company stock worth $10,113. 7.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of First United from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $42.00.

First United Trading Up 0.8%

FUNC traded up $0.31 during trading on Thursday, reaching $37.04. 3,764 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 29,178. The company's fifty day moving average price is $34.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. First United Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $24.66 and a fifty-two week high of $42.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $240.39 million, a PE ratio of 10.15 and a beta of 0.70.

First United (NASDAQ:FUNC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The bank reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.08. First United had a net margin of 20.53% and a return on equity of 13.05%. The firm had revenue of $21.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.26 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that First United Corporation will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

First United Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 18th. First United's payout ratio is currently 24.11%.

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.