Short Interest in First Community Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCBC) Grows By 31.5%

First Community Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCBC) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 137,000 shares, a growth of 31.5% from the February 28th total of 104,200 shares. Approximately 0.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 37,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.6 days.

First Community Bankshares Trading Up 1.7 %

NASDAQ:FCBC traded up $0.63 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $38.23. The company had a trading volume of 38,767 shares, compared to its average volume of 35,282. First Community Bankshares has a 1 year low of $31.00 and a 1 year high of $49.02. The company has a 50-day moving average of $40.78 and a 200 day moving average of $42.48. The company has a market cap of $700.64 million, a P/E ratio of 13.46 and a beta of 0.52.

First Community Bankshares (NASDAQ:FCBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter. First Community Bankshares had a return on equity of 10.35% and a net margin of 27.81%.

First Community Bankshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. First Community Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.66%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Community Bankshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in First Community Bankshares by 84.5% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 620 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of First Community Bankshares during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in First Community Bankshares during the fourth quarter worth about $137,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of First Community Bankshares by 62.3% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,509 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $146,000 after acquiring an additional 1,347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citadel Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Community Bankshares in the fourth quarter worth approximately $257,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 34.95% of the company’s stock.

About First Community Bankshares

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.