First Community Corporation (NASDAQ:FCCO) Raises Dividend to $0.17 Per Share

Key Points

• First Community Corporation raised its quarterly dividend to $0.17 per share from $0.16, a 6.3% increase. The dividend will be paid on August 18 to shareholders of record on August 4, with an annualized yield of about 2.1%.
• The bank has increased its dividend annually for four straight years, and its payout ratio of 23.5% suggests the dividend is well covered by earnings. Analysts expect future earnings to keep the payout ratio low at about 19.9%.
• First Community also reported solid recent results, with quarterly EPS of $0.84, beating expectations by $0.15. The stock was trading near $32.49, with a market value of about $305 million.

First Community Corporation (NASDAQ:FCCO - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be paid a dividend of 0.17 per share by the bank on Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 4th. This is a 6.3% increase from First Community's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16.

First Community has increased its dividend by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 4 consecutive years. First Community has a payout ratio of 23.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect First Community to earn $3.22 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.64 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 19.9%.

First Community Price Performance

First Community stock traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $32.49. 75,596 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 79,700. The company has a market capitalization of $305.34 million, a PE ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 0.34. The business has a fifty day moving average of $31.52 and a 200 day moving average of $30.27. First Community has a 1-year low of $24.12 and a 1-year high of $34.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.15. First Community had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 13.00%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that First Community will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current year.

About First Community

First Community Financial Corp. NASDAQ: FCCO is the bank holding company for First Community Bank, a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Bluefield, West Virginia. Through its subsidiary, the company delivers a comprehensive range of financial services to individuals, small businesses and larger commercial clients. Its operations are focused on community banking, with an emphasis on personalized relationship management and local decision-making.

The company's core offerings include deposit products such as checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit and money market accounts, as well as consumer and commercial lending solutions.

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