Wall Street Zen Upgrades First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) to Buy

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded First United (NASDAQ: FUNC) from hold to buy, adding to a generally bullish analyst backdrop for the stock.
• Other firms also remain positive, with Hovde Group and Raymond James maintaining outperform ratings and raising targets; the consensus rating is Buy with an average price target of $49.50.
• First United recently beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.13 EPS versus the $1.05 estimate, while the shares were trading at $44.57 and are up near their 52-week high.

First United (NASDAQ:FUNC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on FUNC. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of First United in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Hovde Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $49.00 target price on shares of First United in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their target price on shares of First United from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $49.50.

First United Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of First United stock opened at $44.57 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $41.96 and its 200 day moving average is $38.96. First United has a one year low of $31.71 and a one year high of $46.30. The firm has a market cap of $287.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.55 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

First United (NASDAQ:FUNC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.08. First United had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 20.05%.The business had revenue of $23.94 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.55 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that First United will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First United

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FUNC. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in First United by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 38,112 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,396,000 after purchasing an additional 2,243 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in First United by 44.2% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 11,508 shares of the bank's stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 3,528 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its holdings in First United by 126.8% during the first quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 896 shares of the bank's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of First United in the fourth quarter valued at $205,000. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of First United by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 73,537 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,753,000 after buying an additional 3,293 shares in the last quarter. 33.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About First United

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.

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