First Community Corporation (NASDAQ:FCCO) Short Interest Up 44.5% in July

Key Points

• First Community Corporation (NASDAQ:FCCO) experienced a significant increase in short interest, rising by 44.5% in July, totaling 242,700 shares as of July 31st.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.16, reflecting an increase from the previous $0.15, and representing a 2.5% yield.
• Hovde Group upgraded First Community's stock rating to "outperform" and increased the price target from $28.00 to $29.00.

First Community Corporation (NASDAQ:FCCO - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 242,700 shares, agrowthof44.5% from the July 15th total of 168,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 43,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.6 days. Approximately3.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Approximately3.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 43,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.6 days.

Institutional Trading of First Community

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in shares of First Community by 79.7% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 39,517 shares of the bank's stock valued at $948,000 after purchasing an additional 17,532 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Community by 55.6% in the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 31,345 shares of the bank's stock valued at $752,000 after purchasing an additional 11,198 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in shares of First Community by 77.3% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 37,400 shares of the bank's stock valued at $898,000 after purchasing an additional 16,300 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Community by 31.7% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 90,731 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,178,000 after purchasing an additional 21,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Community in the fourth quarter valued at $284,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.25% of the company's stock.

First Community Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FCCO traded up $0.78 on Friday, reaching $26.84. 33,523 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 25,738. First Community has a fifty-two week low of $19.46 and a fifty-two week high of $27.96. The company's 50 day moving average is $24.87 and its 200-day moving average is $23.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $206.40 million, a PE ratio of 12.04 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.09. First Community had a return on equity of 11.65% and a net margin of 15.87%.The company had revenue of $19.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.56 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that First Community will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Community Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. This is an increase from First Community's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. First Community's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.70%.

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.