First Community Co. (FCCO) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.15 on February 18th

First Community Co. (NASDAQ:FCCO) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 22nd,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be given a dividend of 0.15 per share by the bank on Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th.

First Community has increased its dividend payment by an average of 6.5% per year over the last three years. First Community has a payout ratio of 24.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect First Community to earn $2.08 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 28.8%.

First Community Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FCCO opened at $25.97 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $198.44 million, a PE ratio of 15.37 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. First Community has a 12-month low of $15.40 and a 12-month high of $26.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $24.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.64.

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.06. First Community had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 12.99%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that First Community will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FCCO. Hovde Group upped their target price on shares of First Community from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Raymond James raised shares of 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.

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.