First Community Co. Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.15 (NASDAQ:FCCO)

First Community Co. (NASDAQ:FCCO - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 22nd,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be paid a dividend of 0.15 per share by the bank on Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%.

First Community has increased its dividend payment by an average of 6.5% per year over the last three years. First Community has a payout ratio of 24.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect First Community to earn $2.08 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 28.8%.

First Community Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FCCO traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $24.57. The company had a trading volume of 19,226 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,894. First Community has a 52-week low of $15.40 and a 52-week high of $26.48. The company's 50 day moving average price is $24.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market cap of $187.71 million, a P/E ratio of 14.54 and a beta of 0.42.

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.06. First Community had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 9.57%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Community will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.