First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) Shares Cross Above 200-Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• First Community shares rose above their 200-day moving average, trading as high as $32.60 versus a 200-day average of $30.14, with the stock last at $32.38.
• Analysts remain constructive on the bank, with Weiss Ratings reaffirming a buy and MarketBeat showing a Moderate Buy consensus price target of $34.00.
• The company recently posted better-than-expected earnings of $0.72 per share and continues to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share, for a 2.0% yield.

First Community Corporation (NASDAQ:FCCO - Get Free Report)'s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $30.14 and traded as high as $32.60. First Community shares last traded at $32.38, with a volume of 35,760 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

First Community Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.14. 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 capitalization of $304.37 million, a PE ratio of 12.70 and a beta of 0.34.

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.08. First Community had a return on equity of 13.00% and a net margin of 17.29%.The business had revenue of $23.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.61 million. Equities research analysts predict that First Community Corporation will post 2.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Community Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Shareholders 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 payout ratio is currently 25.10%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in First Community in the 1st quarter worth $8,430,000. Maltese Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Community by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Maltese Capital Management LLC now owns 252,500 shares of the bank's stock valued at $7,487,000 after purchasing an additional 12,769 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of First Community by 11.3% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 205,992 shares of the bank's stock valued at $6,021,000 after purchasing an additional 20,970 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of First Community by 115.5% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 195,527 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,411,000 after purchasing an additional 104,796 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of First Community by 103.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 174,732 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,260,000 after purchasing an additional 88,807 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.25% of the company's stock.

First Community Company Profile

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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