First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Monday morning.

First Community Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of First Community stock opened at $16.30 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.51. First Community has a 12-month low of $15.40 and a 12-month high of $22.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $124.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.40 and a beta of 0.43.

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.34. First Community had a net margin of 12.32% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The business had revenue of $24.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.83 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that First Community will post 1.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Community Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th were given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 29th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. First Community’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.16%.

Institutional Trading of First Community

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in First Community by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 409,203 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,132,000 after buying an additional 3,254 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Value Bank Partners LLC raised its position in First Community by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Value Bank Partners LLC now owns 290,114 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,246,000 after buying an additional 892 shares during the last quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC raised its position in First Community by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC now owns 187,046 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,260,000 after buying an additional 8,275 shares during the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC raised its position in First Community by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 79,671 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,389,000 after buying an additional 1,050 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in First Community by 18.9% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 44,150 shares of the bank’s stock worth $770,000 after buying an additional 7,003 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.25% of the company’s stock.

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.