First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Community in a research note 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.00.

First Community Stock Performance

FCCO opened at $34.55 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.55. First Community has a 52-week low of $24.38 and a 52-week high of $35.74. The company has a market cap of $324.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.89 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.

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $25.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.69 million. First Community had a net margin of 18.32% and a return on equity of 14.03%. Equities analysts anticipate that First Community will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Community Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This is a boost from First Community’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 4th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. First Community’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.37%.

Insider Transactions at First Community

In other news, 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 completion of 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 8.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Community

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FCCO. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Community during the 1st quarter worth approximately $8,430,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Community by 115.5% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 195,527 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,411,000 after purchasing an additional 104,796 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Community by 103.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 174,732 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,260,000 after purchasing an additional 88,807 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Community by 199.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 90,919 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,051,000 after purchasing an additional 60,596 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in First Community by 31.4% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 125,328 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,663,000 after buying an additional 29,967 shares in the last quarter. 61.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.