First Community Co. (FCCO) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.15 on August 13th

First Community Co. (NASDAQ:FCCO) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, July 16th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 30th will be given a dividend of 0.15 per share by the bank on Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 30th. This is an increase from First Community’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14.

First Community has increased its dividend payment by an average of 5.3% annually over the last three years. First Community has a dividend payout ratio of 31.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect First Community to earn $2.00 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 30.0%.

First Community Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FCCO opened at $22.75 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $173.58 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.91 and a beta of 0.43. First Community has a one year low of $15.40 and a one year high of $23.30. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.05. First Community had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 8.44%. The firm had revenue of $25.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.42 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that First Community will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of First Community from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 1st.

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.