First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) EVP Fred Joseph Deutsch Sells 10,000 Shares of Stock

First Community Corporation (NASDAQ:FCCO) EVP Fred Joseph Deutsch sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.52, for a total transaction of $345,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 18,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $637,515.36. This represents a 35.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

First Community Trading Up 3.2%

Shares of FCCO opened at $35.01 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $329.02 million, a P/E ratio of 13.06 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.42. First Community Corporation has a twelve month low of $24.12 and a twelve month high of $35.26.

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. First Community had a net margin of 18.32% and a return on equity of 14.03%. The firm had revenue of $25.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.69 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that First Community Corporation will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

First Community Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 4th. This is a boost from First Community’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. First Community’s payout ratio is 25.37%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in First Community in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of First Community by 324.2% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,349 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 1,031 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. bought a new position in First Community in the second quarter worth about $99,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund bought a new position in First Community in the second quarter worth about $102,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in First Community in the second quarter worth about $182,000. 61.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Community in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Community currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.00.

About First Community

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.