Hovde Group Issues Positive Forecast for First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) Stock Price

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) had its target price hoisted by Hovde Group from $28.00 to $29.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the bank’s stock.

Separately, Raymond James upgraded shares of First Community from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $27.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Thursday.

First Community Stock Up 5.7 %

NASDAQ FCCO opened at $25.97 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $198.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.37 and a beta of 0.42. First Community has a 1-year low of $15.40 and a 1-year high of $26.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a 50 day moving average of $24.60 and a 200-day moving average of $22.64.

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.06. First Community had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.43 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that First Community will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Community Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. First Community’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.50%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fourthstone LLC lifted its stake in First Community by 28.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 400,225 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,581,000 after purchasing an additional 89,652 shares during the last quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Community by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC now owns 182,441 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,379,000 after acquiring an additional 850 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its holdings in shares of First Community by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 105,945 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,271,000 after acquiring an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in First Community by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 83,088 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,782,000 after acquiring an additional 5,157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in First Community by 48.1% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC now owns 39,985 shares of the bank’s stock worth $857,000 after purchasing an additional 12,985 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.25% of the company’s stock.

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.