First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) Stock Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average - What's Next?

First Community Co. (NASDAQ:FCCO - Get Free Report)'s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $23.30 and traded as high as $27.69. First Community shares last traded at $27.51, with a volume of 101,349 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FCCO. Raymond James raised First Community from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $27.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Janney Montgomery Scott raised First Community from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $30.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Hovde Group boosted their target price on First Community from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd.

First Community Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $208.57 million, a P/E ratio of 15.08 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a 50-day moving average of $25.00 and a 200 day moving average of $23.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that First Community Co. will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Community Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. First Community's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.15%.

Institutional Trading of First Community

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp increased its holdings in First Community by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,795 shares of the bank's stock worth $489,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of First Community by 214.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 10,046 shares of the bank's stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 6,847 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Community by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 83,088 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,782,000 after buying an additional 5,157 shares during the last quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Community by 48.1% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC now owns 39,985 shares of the bank's stock worth $857,000 after buying an additional 12,985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of First Community in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $289,000. 61.25% of the stock is 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.