StockNews.com Downgrades First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) to Sell

StockNews.com downgraded shares of First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Thursday.

Separately, Raymond James upgraded shares of First Community from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $21.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, January 25th.

First Community Stock Performance

NASDAQ FCCO opened at $17.27 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $131.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.08 and a beta of 0.44. First Community has a twelve month low of $15.40 and a twelve month high of $22.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.34. First Community had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 12.32%. The company had revenue of $24.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.83 million. Sell-side analysts expect that First Community will post 1.54 EPS for the current year.

First Community Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th were given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 29th. First Community’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.16%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Community

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of First Community by 41.0% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,373 shares of the bank’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 981 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in First Community by 522.1% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 3,465 shares of the bank’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 2,908 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in First Community in the first quarter valued at $239,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 2,450 shares during the period. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of First Community during the 4th quarter worth about $670,000. 61.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Community Company 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.