First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.09 EPS

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO - Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The bank reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.09, Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $19.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.56 million. First Community had a net margin of 15.87% and a return on equity of 11.84%.

First Community Stock Performance

FCCO stock traded down $0.01 on Friday, reaching $25.22. 22,731 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 78,847. First Community has a 12 month low of $19.46 and a 12 month high of $27.96. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $24.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $193.69 million, a PE ratio of 11.31 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

First Community Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.54%. This is a positive change from First Community's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. First Community's payout ratio is 30.30%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Community

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Hovde Group raised their target price on shares of First Community from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th.

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.