Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC Acquires New Shares in First Community Co. (NASDAQ:FCCO)

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Community Co. (NASDAQ:FCCO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 15,101 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $362,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC owned 0.20% of First Community at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCCO. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in First Community in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of First Community in the 4th quarter worth $206,000. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of First Community by 214.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 10,046 shares of the bank’s stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 6,847 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in shares of First Community by 419.8% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 9,357 shares of the bank’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 7,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of First Community by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,798 shares of the bank’s stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. 61.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on FCCO. Raymond James upgraded First Community from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $27.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Hovde Group increased their price target on First Community from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded First Community from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th.

First Community Trading Up 0.5%

First Community stock opened at $23.98 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $183.95 million, a P/E ratio of 13.25 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. First Community Co. has a 1 year low of $15.75 and a 1 year high of $27.96. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $22.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.06.

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $18.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.39 million. First Community had a net margin of 13.49% and a return on equity of 10.14%. On average, equities analysts predict that First Community Co. will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Community Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 6th. First Community’s payout ratio is currently 30.30%.

First Community 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.