First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Friday.

Separately, Raymond James raised shares of First Community from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $21.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 25th.

First Community Price Performance

Shares of FCCO stock opened at $16.94 on Friday. First Community has a 1 year low of $15.40 and a 1 year high of $22.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $16.79 and its 200-day moving average is $17.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.85 and a beta of 0.43.

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.34. The firm had revenue of $24.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.83 million. First Community had a return on equity of 8.69% and a net margin of 12.32%. Sell-side analysts forecast that First Community will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Community Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. First Community’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.16%.

Institutional Trading of First Community

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FCCO. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of First Community by 103.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 76,251 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,317,000 after acquiring an additional 38,780 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new position in First Community during the fourth quarter worth about $670,000. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new position in First Community during the third quarter worth approximately $466,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in First Community by 522.1% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 3,465 shares of the bank’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 2,908 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Value Bank Partners LLC raised its stake in First Community by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Value Bank Partners LLC now owns 290,114 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,246,000 after buying an additional 892 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.