Jane Sosebee Purchases 1,250 Shares of First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) Stock

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

First Community Price Performance

FCCO opened at $33.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.11. The firm has a market cap of $313.96 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.46 and a beta of 0.34. First Community Corporation has a 1 year low of $25.92 and a 1 year high of $35.74.

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $25.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.69 million. First Community had a net margin of 18.32% and a return on equity of 13.23%. As a group, analysts predict that First Community Corporation will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

First Community Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is a boost 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FCCO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Hovde Group raised their price target on First Community from $36.00 to $37.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Community in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of First Community from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.50.

Institutional Trading of First Community

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Millennium Management LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 104,796 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in First Community by 1,230.5% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 12,640 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 11,690 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted 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 worth $2,051,000 after acquiring an additional 60,596 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in First Community by 7.7% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,080 shares of the bank’s stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 721 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in First Community by 63.7% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 51,323 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,158,000 after acquiring an additional 19,978 shares in the last quarter. 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.