First Community Corporation (NASDAQ:FCCO) Short Interest Up 184.3% in June

Key Points

• Short interest in First Community Corporation surged 184.3% in June, reaching 174,848 shares by June 30. That equals about 2.0% of the company’s float, with a short-interest ratio of 1.2 days.
• Institutional ownership remains significant, with hedge funds and other institutional investors owning 61.25% of the stock. Several firms, including Millennium Management and Goldman Sachs, increased their stakes in the latest quarter.
• The bank has shown solid operating and shareholder returns, recently beating earnings expectations with $0.72 EPS versus the $0.64 estimate. It also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share, implying a 2.0% annualized yield.

First Community Corporation (NASDAQ:FCCO - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 174,848 shares, an increase of 184.3% from the June 15th total of 61,511 shares. Currently, 2.0% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 147,140 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.2 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Community

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCCO. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Community by 115.5% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 195,527 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,411,000 after acquiring an additional 104,796 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in First Community by 1,230.5% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 12,640 shares of the bank's stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 11,690 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in First Community by 199.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 90,919 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,051,000 after purchasing an additional 60,596 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in First Community by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,080 shares of the bank's stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 721 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in First Community by 63.7% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 51,323 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,158,000 after purchasing an additional 19,978 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.25% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of First Community in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $34.00.

First Community Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ FCCO traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $32.58. 51,353 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 81,627. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market cap of $306.19 million, a PE ratio of 12.78 and a beta of 0.34. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $31.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.13. First Community has a 12 month low of $24.00 and a 12 month high of $34.01.

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.08. First Community had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 13.00%. The company had revenue of $23.16 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.61 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that First Community will post 2.97 EPS for the current year.

First Community Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 5th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 5th. First Community's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.10%.

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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