First Community Co. (NASDAQ:FCCO) Short Interest Up 32.0% in November

First Community Co. (NASDAQ:FCCO) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 9,900 shares, a growth of 32.0% from the November 15th total of 7,500 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 15,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.6 days.

First Community Stock Performance

Shares of FCCO remained flat at $25.95 during midday trading on Friday. 182,496 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 27,658. First Community has a 52 week low of $15.40 and a 52 week high of $26.48. The company has a market capitalization of $198.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.36 and a beta of 0.40. 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $24.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.25.

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $26.73 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.65 million. First Community had a net margin of 12.99% and a return on equity of 9.57%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First Community will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Community Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 29th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. First Community’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.50%.

Institutional Trading of First Community

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in First Community by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 409,203 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,132,000 after acquiring an additional 3,254 shares during the last quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of First Community during the second quarter worth about $49,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Community by 22.1% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 19,474 shares of the bank’s stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 3,525 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Value Bank Partners LLC grew its stake in First Community by 0.3% in the second quarter. Strategic Value Bank Partners LLC now owns 291,998 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,037,000 after purchasing an additional 975 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in First Community in the second quarter valued at approximately $58,000. 61.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.