First Community Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCBC) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

First Community Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCBC) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 166,400 shares, a decline of 10.0% from the July 15th total of 184,900 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 38,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.3 days. Currently, 1.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Sarah W. Harmon sold 2,593 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.46, for a total transaction of $115,284.78. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,855 shares in the company, valued at $215,853.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.67% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Community Bankshares

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of First Community Bankshares in the 1st quarter worth about $772,000. Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new stake in First Community Bankshares in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,412,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Community Bankshares by 12.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 916,310 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,732,000 after acquiring an additional 102,183 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Community Bankshares during the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in First Community Bankshares during the 4th quarter worth about $730,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 34.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Hovde Group started coverage on shares of First Community Bankshares in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of First Community Bankshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 27th.

First Community Bankshares Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of FCBC traded up $0.33 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $41.58. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 15,104 shares, compared to its average volume of 33,800. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.33. First Community Bankshares has a 1-year low of $28.13 and a 1-year high of $45.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $763.16 million, a P/E ratio of 15.34 and a beta of 0.52.

First Community Bankshares (NASDAQ:FCBC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $41.25 million for the quarter. First Community Bankshares had a net margin of 28.30% and a return on equity of 11.33%.

First Community Bankshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. This is a boost from First Community Bankshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.98%. First Community Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.76%.

First Community Bankshares Company Profile

First Community Bankshares, Inc operates as the financial holding company for First Community Bank that provides various banking products and services. It offers demand deposit accounts, savings and money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement plans; and commercial, consumer real estate, and consumer and other loans.