First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.06 EPS

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO - Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The bank reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.06, Zacks reports. First Community had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share.

First Community Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FCCO traded up $1.40 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $25.97. 80,696 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 28,878. First Community has a twelve month low of $15.40 and a twelve month high of $26.73. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $24.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.64. The stock has a market cap of $198.41 million, a P/E ratio of 15.37 and a beta of 0.42.

First Community Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. First Community's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FCCO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Hovde Group increased their price target on shares of First Community from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Raymond James raised First Community from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $27.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Thursday.

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.