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

First Community Co. (NASDAQ:FCCO - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 115,300 shares, a decrease of 16.3% from the February 28th total of 137,800 shares. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 54,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on FCCO shares. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded 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. Hovde Group lifted their price objective on First Community from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of First Community from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $27.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd.

First Community Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of FCCO stock traded down $0.56 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $20.58. 49,809 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 36,945. The stock has a market cap of $157.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.37 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. First Community has a fifty-two week low of $15.40 and a fifty-two week high of $27.96. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.92.

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First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.06. First Community had a return on equity of 10.14% and a net margin of 13.49%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that First Community will post 2.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Community Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. First Community's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.15%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of First Community by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,798 shares of the bank's stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the period. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC lifted its position in First Community by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC now owns 182,441 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,379,000 after buying an additional 850 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in First Community by 5.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,795 shares of the bank's stock valued at $489,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in First Community during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of First Community by 63.6% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.25% of the company's stock.

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.