First Community Co. (NASDAQ:FCCO) Shares Bought by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of First Community Co. (NASDAQ:FCCO) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 101,369 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,200 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 1.33% of First Community worth $2,433,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FCCO. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in First Community in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in shares of First Community by 419.8% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 9,357 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 7,557 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of First Community by 214.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 10,046 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $215,000 after buying an additional 6,847 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in First Community by 57.7% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 21,282 shares of the bank’s stock worth $511,000 after acquiring an additional 7,788 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its holdings in First Community by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,795 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $489,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the period. 61.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Community Price Performance

Shares of FCCO opened at $23.80 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $182.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.15 and a beta of 0.31. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.92. First Community Co. has a twelve month low of $15.75 and a twelve month high of $27.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

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

First Community Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 6th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. First Community’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of First Community from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James upgraded shares of First Community from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $27.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Hovde Group boosted their target price on First Community from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday.

First Community Company 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.