First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) Announces Earnings Results

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The bank reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34, Yahoo Finance reports. First Community had a return on equity of 9.43% and a net margin of 14.25%.

First Community Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FCCO opened at $15.95 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $121.70 million, a PE ratio of 10.36 and a beta of 0.43. First Community has a 52-week low of $15.40 and a 52-week high of $22.00. The company has a fifty day moving average of $16.85 and a 200-day moving average of $17.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.78.

First Community Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 6th were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 5th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.51%. First Community’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.36%.

Institutional Trading of First Community

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in First Community by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 405,949 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,740,000 after acquiring an additional 12,029 shares during the last quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in First Community during the fourth quarter valued at $138,000. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of First Community by 188.5% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 13,281 shares of the bank’s stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 8,677 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of First Community during the 4th quarter worth about $218,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in shares of First Community during the 4th quarter worth about $90,000. Institutional investors own 61.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FCCO. Raymond James upgraded First Community from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $21.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com upgraded First Community from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th.

About First Community

First Community Corporation operates as the bank holding company for First Community Bank that provides various commercial and retail banking products and services to small-to-medium sized businesses, professionals, and individuals. The company operates through Commercial and Retail Banking, Mortgage Banking, and Investment Advisory and Non-Deposit segments.