First Community Co. (NASDAQ:FCCO) Short Interest Down 16.3% in March

First Community Co. (NASDAQ:FCCO) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 115,300 shares, a decline of 16.3% from the February 28th total of 137,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 54,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days. Currently, 1.6% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCCO. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Community in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its stake in First Community by 63.6% during the 4th quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 6,369 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $153,000 after purchasing an additional 2,475 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in First Community in the 4th quarter valued at $206,000. Barclays PLC grew its position in First Community by 214.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 10,046 shares of the bank’s stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 6,847 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in shares of First Community by 419.8% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 9,357 shares of the bank’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 7,557 shares during the period. 61.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Community Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FCCO traded up $0.23 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $22.70. The stock had a trading volume of 23,222 shares, compared to its average volume of 36,530. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. First Community has a 52 week low of $15.40 and a 52 week high of $27.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $174.13 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.54 and a beta of 0.41.

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.06. First Community had a net margin of 13.49% and a return on equity of 10.14%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that First Community will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Community Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.64%. First Community’s payout ratio is 33.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on FCCO. Janney Montgomery Scott raised First Community from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James upgraded shares of First Community from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $27.00 to $30.00 in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Hovde Group upped their price objective on shares of First Community from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd.

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.