First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.06 EPS

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The bank reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.06, Zacks reports. First Community had a net margin of 19.55% and a return on equity of 13.73%. The firm had revenue of $26.23 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.01 million.

First Community Trading Up 0.7%

NASDAQ FCCO opened at $32.99 on Friday. First Community has a 12 month low of $26.42 and a 12 month high of $35.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $310.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.31 and a beta of 0.33. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $33.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.23.

First Community Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 3rd. First Community’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jonathan W. Been sold 14,800 shares of First Community stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.05, for a total transaction of $503,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 120,655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,108,302.75. This trade represents a 10.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Fred Joseph Deutsch sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.52, for a total value of $345,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $637,515.36. The trade was a 35.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 24,800 shares of company stock valued at $849,140 over the last quarter. 8.84% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FCCO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Community in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Hovde Group increased their target price on shares of First Community from $36.00 to $37.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded First Community from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $37.50.

About First Community

First Community Corporation is the bank holding company for First Community Bank, a community-focused financial institution headquartered in Lexington, South Carolina. The company serves individuals, families, businesses and nonprofit organizations primarily in the Midlands and Upstate regions of South Carolina.

Through First Community Bank, the company offers a range of banking products and services, including checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, residential and commercial real estate loans, consumer lending, business loans and lines of credit.