First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Hovde Group Analyst Says

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) had its price objective increased by research analysts at Hovde Group from $28.00 to $29.00 in a report released on Thursday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the bank’s stock. Hovde Group’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 22.99% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on FCCO. Raymond James upgraded shares of First Community from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $27.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded First Community from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th.

First Community Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FCCO opened at $23.58 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The business has a 50-day moving average of $22.78 and a 200-day moving average of $23.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $180.88 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 0.31. First Community has a fifty-two week low of $15.61 and a fifty-two week high of $27.96.

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.04. First Community had a net margin of 13.49% and a return on equity of 10.14%. The business had revenue of $18.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.39 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First Community will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Community

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of First Community by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,798 shares of the bank’s stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the period. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC increased its position in First Community by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC now owns 182,441 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,379,000 after buying an additional 850 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in First Community by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,795 shares of the bank’s stock worth $489,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Community during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of First Community by 63.6% in the fourth quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 6,369 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $153,000 after acquiring an additional 2,475 shares during the period. 61.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About First Community

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.