First Community Corporation (NASDAQ:FCCO) Short Interest Down 37.6% in April

First Community Corporation (NASDAQ:FCCO) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totaling 56,341 shares, a drop of 37.6% from the April 15th total of 90,304 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 72,101 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.8 days.

First Community Stock Up 1.5%

NASDAQ FCCO traded up $0.44 during trading on Monday, reaching $29.70. 49,955 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 69,867. The stock has a market cap of $278.59 million, a P/E ratio of 11.64 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. First Community has a 1 year low of $21.80 and a 1 year high of $31.51. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $29.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.31.

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $23.16 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.61 million. First Community had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 14.19%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that First Community will post 2.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Community Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 5th. First Community’s payout ratio is currently 25.10%.

Institutional Trading of First Community

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Community in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. CWM LLC acquired a new stake in First Community during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in First Community by 324.2% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,349 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,031 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in First Community by 116.2% in the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,405 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 755 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. purchased a new stake in First Community during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $99,000. 61.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on FCCO. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Community in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Hovde Group increased their target price on First Community from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Community presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.00.

About First Community

First Community Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: FCCO) is the bank holding company for First Community Bank, a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Bluefield, West Virginia. Through its subsidiary, the company delivers a comprehensive range of financial services to individuals, small businesses and larger commercial clients. Its operations are focused on community banking, with an emphasis on personalized relationship management and local decision-making.

The company’s core offerings include deposit products such as checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit and money market accounts, as well as consumer and commercial lending solutions.