First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) Stock Gets Downgrade from Wall Street Zen

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Hovde Group boosted their target price on First Community from $36.00 to $37.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Community in a report on Friday, July 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $37.50.

First Community Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of FCCO stock opened at $32.51 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $305.59 million, a P/E ratio of 12.13 and a beta of 0.33. First Community has a 52 week low of $25.92 and a 52 week high of $35.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.04.

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $25.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.69 million. First Community had a net margin of 18.32% and a return on equity of 13.23%. Analysts predict that First Community will post 3.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Community news, Director Jonathan W. Been sold 14,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.05, for a total transaction of $503,940.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 120,655 shares in the company, valued at $4,108,302.75. The trade was a 10.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Fred Joseph Deutsch sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.52, for a total transaction of $345,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 18,468 shares in the company, valued at $637,515.36. This trade represents a 35.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 24,800 shares of company stock worth $849,140 over the last three months. 8.84% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Community

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Burkett Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in First Community by 154.8% in the third quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 762 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of First Community during the second quarter valued at approximately $195,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of First Community by 24.7% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 10,607 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 2,099 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in shares of First Community during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $524,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of First Community during the first quarter valued at approximately $594,000. Institutional investors own 61.25% of the company’s stock.

About First Community

First Community Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Lexington, South Carolina. Through its principal subsidiary, First Community Bank, the company provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses and institutions.

First Community Bank offers deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate lending, consumer loans, business financing and other credit products. Its services also include online and mobile banking, treasury management, mortgage banking, wealth management and investment services.

Founded in 1995, First Community serves communities across South Carolina through a network of banking offices and digital channels.