Hovde Group Issues Positive Forecast for First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) Stock Price

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by equities research analysts at Hovde Group from $28.00 to $29.00 in a research note issued on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the bank's stock. Hovde Group's price target indicates a potential upside of 11.67% from the stock's previous close.

Separately, Raymond James raised First Community from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $27.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Thursday.

First Community Stock Performance

FCCO traded up $1.40 on Thursday, hitting $25.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 80,696 shares, compared to its average volume of 28,803. First Community has a 12 month low of $15.40 and a 12 month high of $26.73. The firm has a market cap of $198.41 million, a P/E ratio of 15.37 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $24.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.64.

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.06. 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 company earned $0.43 EPS. Analysts forecast that First Community will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Community

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FCCO. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Community in the second quarter worth about $58,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in First Community in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $261,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of First Community during the second quarter valued at approximately $190,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of First Community during the third quarter valued at approximately $289,000. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its stake in First Community by 0.7% in the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 105,945 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,271,000 after acquiring an additional 690 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.25% of the company's stock.

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.