First Community Co. Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.14 (NASDAQ:FCCO)

First Community Co. (NASDAQ:FCCO) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, April 16th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of 0.14 per share by the bank on Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th.

First Community has increased its dividend by an average of 5.3% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 2 consecutive years. First Community has a payout ratio of 29.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect First Community to earn $1.92 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.56 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 29.2%.

First Community Price Performance

Shares of First Community stock remained flat at $15.95 during mid-day trading on Thursday. 18,249 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,747. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.93. First Community has a twelve month low of $15.40 and a twelve month high of $22.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $121.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.39 and a beta of 0.43.

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.34. The business had revenue of $24.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.83 million. First Community had a net margin of 14.25% and a return on equity of 9.43%. Sell-side analysts expect that First Community will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James raised shares of First Community from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $21.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of First Community from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Community

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCCO. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in First Community by 31.4% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 51,604 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,094,000 after buying an additional 12,340 shares in the last quarter. Fourthstone LLC lifted its holdings in First Community by 50.9% during the 1st quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 280,735 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,952,000 after buying an additional 94,705 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in First Community by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,755 shares of the bank’s stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 1,413 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in First Community by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 409,357 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,678,000 after buying an additional 4,305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in First Community by 314.7% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,833 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 1,391 shares in the last quarter. 61.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.