Short Interest in First Community Co. (NASDAQ:FCCO) Drops By 16.3%

First Community Co. (NASDAQ:FCCO) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 115,300 shares, a drop of 16.3% from the February 28th total of 137,800 shares. Currently, 1.6% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 54,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Community

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Community in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its holdings in First Community by 63.6% in the 4th quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 6,369 shares of the bank’s stock worth $153,000 after acquiring an additional 2,475 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in First Community in the 4th quarter valued at about $206,000. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in First Community by 214.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 10,046 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 6,847 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in First Community by 419.8% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 9,357 shares of the bank’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 7,557 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.25% of the company’s stock.

First Community Stock Performance

First Community stock traded down $0.26 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $22.30. 20,233 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 57,391. The firm has a market capitalization of $171.06 million, a PE ratio of 12.31 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $24.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.96. First Community has a one year low of $15.40 and a one year high of $27.96.

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.06. First Community had a net margin of 13.49% and a return on equity of 10.14%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.43 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that First Community will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current year.

First Community Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. First Community’s payout ratio is currently 33.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FCCO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of First Community from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James raised First Community from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $27.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Hovde Group upped their price target on First Community from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd.

About First Community

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.