Jonathan Been Sells 14,800 Shares of First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) Stock

First Community Corporation (NASDAQ:FCCO) Director Jonathan Been sold 14,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.05, for a total value of $503,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 120,655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,108,302.75. The trade was a 10.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

First Community Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of FCCO opened at $34.56 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $324.86 million, a PE ratio of 12.90 and a beta of 0.33. First Community Corporation has a 12 month low of $25.92 and a 12 month high of $35.74. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $33.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.15. First Community had a return on equity of 13.23% and a net margin of 18.32%.The firm had revenue of $25.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.69 million. On average, analysts anticipate that First Community Corporation will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

First Community Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 4th. This is a positive change from First Community’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. First Community’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.37%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Community

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Community during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in First Community by 324.2% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,349 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,031 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. bought a new position in First Community during the second quarter worth $99,000. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in First Community by 717.0% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,268 shares of the bank’s stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 2,868 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund acquired a new stake in First Community in the second quarter worth $102,000. 61.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on FCCO. Hovde Group upped their price objective on shares of First Community from $36.00 to $37.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of First Community from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Community in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Community has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.50.

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.