Renaissance Technologies LLC Grows Stock Holdings in First Community Bancshares, Inc. $FCBC

Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCBC) by 81.0% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 55,188 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,694 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in First Community Bancshares were worth $2,291,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in shares of First Community Bancshares by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 35,959 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,205,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC grew its holdings in First Community Bancshares by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 19,291 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $651,000 after buying an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in First Community Bancshares by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 10,124 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $382,000 after buying an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Community Bancshares by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 5,265 shares of the bank’s stock worth $206,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of First Community Bancshares by 78.0% in the 3rd quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 1,143 shares of the bank’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. 34.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on FCBC shares. Zacks Research raised shares of First Community Bancshares to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of First Community Bancshares in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First Community Bancshares in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Insider Transactions at First Community Bancshares

In related news, President Gary R. Mills sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.67, for a total transaction of $166,845.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 5,798 shares in the company, valued at $276,390.66. This trade represents a 37.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 3.66% of the company’s stock.

First Community Bancshares Stock Performance

First Community Bancshares stock opened at $47.74 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $900.85 million, a PE ratio of 15.06 and a beta of 0.48. First Community Bancshares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $31.21 and a fifty-two week high of $49.48. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $45.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.33.

First Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:FCBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.02. First Community Bancshares had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 28.84%.The company had revenue of $81.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $51.20 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First Community Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current year.

First Community Bancshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. This is a positive change from First Community Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. First Community Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.64%.

About First Community Bancshares

First Community Bancshares, Inc (NASDAQ: FCBC) is a bank holding company headquartered in Mebane, North Carolina, that delivers banking and financial services through its wholly owned subsidiary, First Community Bank. The company’s core focus is on relationship-driven community banking, offering clients a blend of personalized service and competitive digital banking capabilities. It serves a diverse clientele that includes individuals, families, small and mid-sized businesses, nonprofit organizations and professional practices.

The bank provides a broad spectrum of deposit products, such as checking, savings, money market and certificate of deposit accounts, alongside treasury management and payment processing solutions.