Weiss Ratings Reaffirms Buy (B) Rating for First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO)

Key Points

• Weiss Ratings has reaffirmed a "Buy (B)" rating for First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO), indicating confidence in the stock's performance.
• Despite the positive outlook from Weiss Ratings, Zacks Research has downgraded the stock from a "strong-buy" to a "hold" rating, reflecting mixed analyst sentiments.
• First Community reported a 2nd quarter EPS of $0.67, surpassing estimates and achieving strong revenue growth, with analysts forecasting a total EPS of 2.28 for the current year.

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy (b)" rating restated by research analysts at Weiss Ratings in a report released on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Separately, Zacks Research cut First Community from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $29.67.

First Community Price Performance

NASDAQ FCCO opened at $27.36 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $27.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.70. First Community has a 1 year low of $19.46 and a 1 year high of $29.55. The company has a market cap of $210.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.27 and a beta of 0.50.

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $19.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.56 million. First Community had a return on equity of 11.65% and a net margin of 15.87%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First Community will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Roderick M. Todd, Jr. sold 1,679 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.00, for a total transaction of $47,012.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,866 shares in the company, valued at $332,248. This trade represents a 12.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 5.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Community

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fourthstone LLC increased its holdings in First Community by 193.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 559,185 shares of the bank's stock valued at $13,633,000 after purchasing an additional 368,747 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 104,796 shares in the last quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of First Community by 0.3% in the second quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC now owns 180,517 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,401,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 88,807 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of First Community by 36.7% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 130,870 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,948,000 after acquiring an additional 35,140 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.25% of the company's stock.

First Community Company Profile

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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