First Community Co. Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.14 (NASDAQ:FCCO)

First Community Co. (NASDAQ:FCCO) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 18th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of 0.14 per share by the bank on Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th.

First Community has increased its dividend by an average of 5.3% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 2 consecutive years. First Community has a dividend payout ratio of 29.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect First Community to earn $1.92 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.56 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 29.2%.

First Community Stock Performance

FCCO stock remained flat at $15.95 during mid-day trading on Thursday. 17,882 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,742. The firm has a market cap of $121.70 million, a P/E ratio of 10.39 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.77. First Community has a 52 week low of $15.40 and a 52 week high of $22.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $16.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.93.

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.34. First Community had a net margin of 14.25% and a return on equity of 9.43%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Community will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FCCO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of First Community from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Raymond James raised shares of First Community from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $21.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, January 25th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Community by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 405,949 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,740,000 after buying an additional 12,029 shares during the period. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in First Community in the 4th quarter valued at about $138,000. Barclays PLC lifted its position in First Community by 188.5% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 13,281 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 8,677 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in First Community in the 4th quarter valued at about $218,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in First Community in the 4th quarter valued at about $90,000. 61.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.