First Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:FCBC) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

First Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCBC)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock to a hold rating. The company traded as high as $45.84 and last traded at $44.9540, with a volume of 4486 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $45.64.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Raymond James Financial began coverage on First Community Bancshares in a report on Tuesday. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First Community Bancshares in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FCBC. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Community Bancshares by 122.4% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 97,773 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,298,000 after buying an additional 53,804 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new position in First Community Bancshares in the third quarter valued at about $1,366,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in First Community Bancshares by 3.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,052,046 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,611,000 after acquiring an additional 33,184 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in First Community Bancshares by 51.8% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 76,204 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,570,000 after purchasing an additional 25,990 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in First Community Bancshares in the first quarter worth about $976,000. 34.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Community Bancshares Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $851.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.03 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $43.20 and a 200 day moving average of $40.02.

First Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:FCBC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The bank reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $78.05 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.20 million. First Community Bancshares had a net margin of 25.89% and a return on equity of 10.44%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that First Community Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Community Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. First Community Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.79%.

First Community Bancshares Company Profile

First Community Bancshares, Inc (NASDAQ: FCBC) is a bank holding company headquartered in Mebane, North Carolina, that delivers banking and financial services through its wholly owned subsidiary, First Community Bank. The company’s core focus is on relationship-driven community banking, offering clients a blend of personalized service and competitive digital banking capabilities. It serves a diverse clientele that includes individuals, families, small and mid-sized businesses, nonprofit organizations and professional practices.

The bank provides a broad spectrum of deposit products, such as checking, savings, money market and certificate of deposit accounts, alongside treasury management and payment processing solutions.