Short Interest in First Community Corporation (NASDAQ:FCCO) Declines By 17.0%

Key Points

• Short interest in First Community fell by 17.0% to 67,933 shares as of March 31, equal to about 0.8% of shares short and a short-interest ratio of 0.8 days.
• Analysts hold a consensus "Moderate Buy" on FCCO with an average price target of $34.00 (two Buy ratings, one Hold), and Hovde Group recently raised its target to $34 while Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a buy.
• Fundamentals include a quarterly EPS beat of $0.69 (vs. $0.68 est.), a quarterly dividend of $0.16 (annualized $0.64, ~2.1% yield), and the stock trading near $30.41 with a P/E of 12.31 and a 52-week range of $20.31–$31.50.

First Community Corporation (NASDAQ:FCCO - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 67,933 shares, a decrease of 17.0% from the March 15th total of 81,811 shares. Approximately 0.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 82,273 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.8 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on FCCO. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of First Community in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Hovde Group increased their price objective on First Community from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $34.00.

First Community Price Performance

Shares of FCCO stock traded down $0.44 on Thursday, reaching $30.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 68,084 shares, compared to its average volume of 70,800. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. First Community has a 12-month low of $20.31 and a 12-month high of $31.50. The company has a market capitalization of $285.37 million, a P/E ratio of 12.31 and a beta of 0.34. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $29.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.93.

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.01. First Community had a return on equity of 12.71% and a net margin of 16.85%.The company had revenue of $20.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.25 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that First Community will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Community Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th were given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 10th. First Community's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.91%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Maltese Capital Management LLC raised its position in First Community by 5.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised 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 valued at $4,411,000 after purchasing an additional 104,796 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in First Community by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 185,022 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,486,000 after purchasing an additional 12,902 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in First Community by 103.4% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 174,732 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,260,000 after purchasing an additional 88,807 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in First Community by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 98,264 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,914,000 after purchasing an additional 10,110 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.25% of the company's stock.

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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