First Community Co. (NASDAQ:FCCO) Short Interest Down 90.0% in July

First Community Co. (NASDAQ:FCCO) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 18,000 shares, a drop of 90.0% from the June 30th total of 180,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 46,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.4 days. Currently, 0.3% of the company’s stock are short sold.

First Community Stock Up 3.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ FCCO traded up $0.78 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $22.91. 26,490 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 32,960. The firm has a market capitalization of $174.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.48 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.29. First Community has a twelve month low of $15.40 and a twelve month high of $23.24.

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.05. First Community had a return on equity of 8.44% and a net margin of 11.60%. The business had revenue of $25.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.42 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that First Community will post 1.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Community Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 30th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 30th. This is a positive change from First Community’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. First Community’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.16%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Community

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in First Community in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in First Community by 41.0% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,373 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 981 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in First Community by 522.1% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 3,465 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 2,908 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in First Community in the first quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in First Community by 8.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 32,688 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $570,000 after purchasing an additional 2,450 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised First Community from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 1st.

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.