First Community Corporation (NASDAQ:FCCO) Short Interest Up 184.3% in June

First Community Corporation (NASDAQ:FCCO) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 174,848 shares, a growth of 184.3% from the June 15th total of 61,511 shares. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 147,140 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.2 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Community in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.00.

First Community Stock Performance

NASDAQ FCCO traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $32.58. The stock had a trading volume of 51,353 shares, compared to its average volume of 81,627. First Community has a 52-week low of $24.00 and a 52-week high of $34.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $31.16 and a 200 day moving average of $30.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $306.19 million, a P/E ratio of 12.78 and a beta of 0.34.

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.08. First Community had a net margin of 17.29% and a return on equity of 13.00%. The company had revenue of $23.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.61 million. Sell-side analysts predict that First Community will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current year.

First Community Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th were paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 5th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. First Community’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.10%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in First Community by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 33,046 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $980,000 after purchasing an additional 592 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of First Community by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,232 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $392,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of First Community by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 22,869 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $678,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Community in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of First Community by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,683 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 937 shares during the period. 61.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.