Short Interest in First Community Co. (NASDAQ:FCCO) Expands By 94.9%

First Community Co. (NASDAQ:FCCO) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 130,200 shares, an increase of 94.9% from the January 31st total of 66,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 51,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

First Community Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of FCCO traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $24.93. The stock had a trading volume of 48,555 shares, compared to its average volume of 65,245. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. First Community has a 52-week low of $15.40 and a 52-week high of $27.96. The business’s fifty day moving average is $25.05 and its 200 day moving average is $23.74. The firm has a market cap of $190.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.77 and a beta of 0.42.

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.06. First Community had a net margin of 13.49% and a return on equity of 10.14%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that First Community will post 2.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Community Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. First Community’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FCCO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of First Community from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Hovde Group increased their target price on shares of First Community from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of First Community from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $27.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Community

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FCCO. State Street Corp boosted its stake in First Community by 5.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,795 shares of the bank’s stock worth $489,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in First Community by 214.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 10,046 shares of the bank’s stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 6,847 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in First Community by 6.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 83,088 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,782,000 after buying an additional 5,157 shares during the period. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of First Community by 48.1% during the third quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC now owns 39,985 shares of the bank’s stock worth $857,000 after purchasing an additional 12,985 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of First Community during the third quarter worth about $289,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.25% of the company’s stock.

First Community Company Profile

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.