First Community Co. Sees 32.0% Increase in Short Interest in November

First Community Co. (NASDAQ:FCCO - Get Free Report) experienced a notable rise in short interest during November. By the end of the month, specifically on November 30th, the short interest reached 9,900 shares. This marks a significant increase of 32.0% compared to the November 15th total of 7,500 shares. Currently, approximately 0.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. With an average daily trading volume of 15,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is now at 0.6 days.

Shares of NASDAQ FCCO traded at $25.95 on Friday, showing little fluctuation. The trading volume for the day was 182,496 shares, well above its average volume of 27,658 shares. Over the past year, First Community has seen a low of $15.40 and a high of $26.48. The company's market capitalization stands at $198.28 million, accompanied by a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.36 and a beta of 0.40. The 50-day moving average is $24.05, while the 200-day moving average is $21.22. Additionally, the company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79, and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Earnings Results

First Community Co. released its latest earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. For the quarter, the bank reported earnings of $0.50 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.44 by $0.06. The total revenue for the quarter was $26.73 million, significantly higher than the forecasted $16.65 million. The bank also reported a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 12.99%. In the same period last year, First Community earned $0.23 per share, and analysts predict that the bank will report 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dividend Announcement

The firm recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid out on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders who were on record by October 29th received a dividend of $0.15 per share. This translates to an annualized dividend of $0.60 and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date was set for October 29th. First Community's dividend payout ratio stands at 35.50%.

Institutional Investors' Activity

In recent times, various large investors have adjusted their holdings of FCCO. For instance, Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC increased its stake in First Community by 48.1% during the third quarter, now owning 39,985 shares valued at $857,000 after acquiring an additional 12,985 shares. Barclays PLC boosted its position by 214.0% in the same quarter, holding 10,046 shares now valued at $215,000 after adding 6,847 shares last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holding by 6.6% during the third quarter, owning 83,088 shares valued at $1,782,000. Similarly, State Street Corp increased its stake by 5.6%, now owning 22,795 shares valued at $489,000, with Fourthstone LLC raising its position by 28.9% to 400,225 shares valued at $8,581,000. Institutional investors collectively hold 61.25% of the company’s stock.

Company Overview

First Community Corporation is the bank holding company for First Community Bank, offering a variety of commercial and retail banking products and services to small-to-medium sized businesses, professionals, and individuals. The company provides services through several segments including Commercial and Retail Banking, Mortgage Banking, as well as Investment Advisory and Non-Deposit segments.

Community, Stocks, Earnings