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

First Community Corporation (NASDAQ:FCCO) Director Jonathan Been sold 14,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.05, for a total transaction of $503,940.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 120,655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,108,302.75. This represents a 10.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

First Community Price Performance

Shares of First Community stock opened at $34.56 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $324.86 million, a PE ratio of 12.90 and a beta of 0.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $33.52 and a 200 day moving average of $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 Corporation has a 12 month low of $25.92 and a 12 month high of $35.74.

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.84 EPS 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, research analysts expect that First Community Corporation will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Community Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Institutional Trading of First Community

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Community by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 33,046 shares of the bank’s stock worth $980,000 after buying an additional 592 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Community by 5.6% during the fourth 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 increased its position in shares of First Community by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 22,869 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $678,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in First Community in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in First Community by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,683 shares of the bank’s stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 937 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.25% of the company’s stock.

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.