Short Interest in First Community Co. (NASDAQ:FCCO) Grows By 8.7%

First Community Co. (NASDAQ:FCCO) saw a large increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 175,300 shares, an increase of 8.7% from the March 31st total of 161,300 shares. Approximately 2.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 23,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FCCO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered First Community from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Raymond James upgraded First Community from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $21.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 25th.

First Community Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FCCO opened at $16.58 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $126.51 million, a P/E ratio of 11.59 and a beta of 0.43. First Community has a 52-week low of $15.40 and a 52-week high of $22.00. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $16.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.78.

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.34. The firm had revenue of $24.44 million during 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that First Community will post 1.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Community Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. First Community’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.16%.

Institutional Trading of First Community

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Strategic Value Bank Partners LLC increased its position in shares of First Community by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Value Bank Partners LLC now owns 290,114 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,246,000 after acquiring an additional 892 shares during the last quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in First Community by 4.6% during the first quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC now owns 187,046 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,260,000 after purchasing an additional 8,275 shares during the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $1,317,000 after purchasing an additional 38,780 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Community in the 4th quarter worth about $670,000. Finally, Community Bank N.A. purchased a new position in shares of First Community in the 3rd quarter worth about $466,000. 61.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.