Hovde Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) Stock

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) had its price target upped by research analysts at Hovde Group from $28.00 to $29.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the bank’s stock. Hovde Group’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 11.58% from the stock’s current price.

Separately, Raymond James upgraded shares of First Community from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $27.00 to $30.00 in a report on Thursday.

First Community Price Performance

First Community stock opened at $25.99 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $198.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.36 and a beta of 0.42. First Community has a 52-week low of $15.40 and a 52-week high of $27.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $24.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.73.

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.06. First Community had a return on equity of 10.14% and a net margin of 13.49%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that First Community will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in First Community in the second quarter valued at about $261,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in First Community by 5.6% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of First Community by 214.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 10,046 shares of the bank’s stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 6,847 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of First Community by 6.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 83,088 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,782,000 after buying an additional 5,157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new position in First Community during the second quarter worth about $58,000. Institutional investors own 61.25% of the company’s stock.

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.