First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) Director Buys $42,437.50 in Stock

First Community Corporation (NASDAQ:FCCO) Director Jane Sosebee acquired 1,250 shares of First Community stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $33.95 per share, with a total value of $42,437.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 10,855 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $368,527.25. This trade represents a 13.01% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

First Community Stock Performance

Shares of FCCO traded down $0.71 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $33.31. The stock had a trading volume of 60,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 75,457. The firm has a market cap of $313.11 million, a P/E ratio of 12.43 and a beta of 0.34. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $33.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.81. First Community Corporation has a 52 week low of $25.92 and a 52 week high of $35.74.

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.15. First Community had a return on equity of 13.23% and a net margin of 18.32%.The company had revenue of $25.14 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.69 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that First Community Corporation will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

First Community Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th were given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is an increase from First Community’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 4th. First Community’s payout ratio is presently 25.37%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Community

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FCCO. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in First Community during the 1st quarter valued at $8,430,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of First Community by 115.5% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 195,527 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,411,000 after buying an additional 104,796 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in First Community by 103.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 174,732 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,260,000 after buying an additional 88,807 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in First Community by 199.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 90,919 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,051,000 after buying an additional 60,596 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Holdings LLC bought a new stake in First Community in the second quarter worth $1,506,000. 61.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FCCO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Hovde Group upped their price target on First Community from $36.00 to $37.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Community in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of First Community from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.