Insider Buying: First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) Director Acquires 1,250 Shares

First Community Corporation (NASDAQ:FCCO) Director Jane Sosebee purchased 1,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $33.95 per share, for a total transaction of $42,437.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,855 shares in the company, valued at approximately $368,527.25. This represents a 13.01% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

First Community Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of First Community stock traded down $0.71 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $33.31. 60,136 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 75,457. The stock has a market cap of $313.11 million, a P/E ratio of 12.43 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a 50 day moving average of $33.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. First Community Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $25.92 and a fifty-two week high of $35.74.

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $25.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.69 million. First Community had a return on equity of 13.23% and a net margin of 18.32%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that First Community Corporation will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Community Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 4th were paid a $0.17 dividend. This is a boost from First Community’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 4th. First Community’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.37%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Community

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FCCO. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in First Community during the third quarter worth $26,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in First Community by 324.2% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,349 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 1,031 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. bought a new stake in First Community in the second quarter worth about $99,000. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in First Community by 717.0% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,268 shares of the bank’s stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 2,868 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund purchased a new position in First Community in the second quarter valued at about $102,000. 61.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FCCO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Hovde Group upped their price target on shares of First Community from $36.00 to $37.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Community in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of First Community from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Community currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.50.

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.