First Community Co. (NASDAQ:FCCO) Short Interest Update

First Community Co. (NASDAQ:FCCO - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 175,300 shares, a growth of 8.7% from the March 31st total of 161,300 shares. Currently, 2.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 23,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.5 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FCCO. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in First Community by 4.6% in the first quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC now owns 187,046 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,260,000 after acquiring an additional 8,275 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Value Bank Partners LLC boosted its stake in First Community by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Value Bank Partners LLC now owns 290,114 shares of the bank's stock worth $6,246,000 after purchasing an additional 892 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in First Community by 522.1% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 3,465 shares of the bank's stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 2,908 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in First Community during the 4th quarter valued at about $670,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC raised its holdings in First Community by 103.5% in the third quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 76,251 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,317,000 after buying an additional 38,780 shares during the last quarter. 61.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FCCO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James raised First Community from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $21.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com lowered First Community from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, April 19th.

First Community Trading Down 1.7 %

FCCO traded down $0.29 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $16.53. 22,399 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 22,352. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.12 million, a P/E ratio of 11.76 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $16.73 and a 200 day moving average of $17.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.77. First Community has a 12-month low of $15.40 and a 12-month high of $22.00.

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34. The company had revenue of $24.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.83 million. First Community had a return on equity of 8.69% and a net margin of 12.32%. Equities research analysts anticipate that First Community will post 1.54 EPS for the current year.

First Community Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. First Community's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.16%.

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.

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