Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Takes $58,000 Position in First Community Co. (NASDAQ:FCCO)

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of First Community Co. (NASDAQ:FCCO) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 3,347 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $58,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Community during the second quarter worth about $49,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in First Community by 41.0% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,373 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 981 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in First Community during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Community by 22.1% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 19,474 shares of the bank’s stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 3,525 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Community by 8.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 32,688 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $570,000 after buying an additional 2,450 shares during the last quarter. 61.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded First Community from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 1st.

First Community Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FCCO opened at $20.79 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. First Community Co. has a twelve month low of $15.40 and a twelve month high of $23.30. The company’s 50 day moving average is $21.31 and its 200 day moving average is $18.69. The company has a market cap of $158.61 million, a PE ratio of 14.54 and a beta of 0.41.

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.05. First Community had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 8.33%. The firm had revenue of $25.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.42 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that First Community Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

First Community Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 30th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. This is a positive change from First Community’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 30th. First Community’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.96%.

First Community 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.