First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) Stock Rating Upgraded by Janney Montgomery Scott

Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has $30.00 target price on the bank’s stock.

FCCO has been the topic of several other research reports. Hovde Group raised their price target on shares of First Community from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. 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 research note on Thursday, January 23rd.

First Community Price Performance

FCCO opened at $26.40 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $201.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.59 and a beta of 0.42. First Community has a fifty-two week low of $15.40 and a fifty-two week high of $27.28. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $24.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.14. 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 (NASDAQ:FCCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that First Community will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

First Community Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. First Community’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.15%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in First Community during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in First Community during the second quarter worth approximately $58,000. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in First Community by 214.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 10,046 shares of the bank’s stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 6,847 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in First Community during the second quarter worth approximately $261,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in First Community during the third quarter worth approximately $289,000. 61.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.