First Community Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCBC) Short Interest Update

First Community Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCBC) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 157,600 shares, an increase of 6.2% from the August 15th total of 148,400 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 40,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.9 days. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Transactions at First Community Bankshares

In other news, SVP Sarah W. Harmon sold 2,593 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.46, for a total transaction of $115,284.78. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,855 shares in the company, valued at $215,853.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.67% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Community Bankshares

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FCBC. Callan Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in First Community Bankshares in the second quarter valued at $14,523,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Community Bankshares by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 916,310 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,732,000 after buying an additional 102,183 shares during the last quarter. Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new position in shares of First Community Bankshares during the 2nd quarter worth $1,412,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of First Community Bankshares during the 1st quarter worth $772,000. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Community Bankshares by 22.0% during the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 60,583 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,232,000 after buying an additional 10,944 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 34.95% of the company’s stock.

First Community Bankshares Stock Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ:FCBC traded up $0.39 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $44.74. The stock had a trading volume of 3,376 shares, compared to its average volume of 32,941. First Community Bankshares has a 12-month low of $28.13 and a 12-month high of $45.93. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.90. The stock has a market cap of $821.16 million, a P/E ratio of 16.37 and a beta of 0.52.

First Community Bankshares (NASDAQ:FCBC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter. First Community Bankshares had a return on equity of 11.30% and a net margin of 28.30%. The company had revenue of $41.25 million during the quarter.

First Community Bankshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. This is an increase from First Community Bankshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. First Community Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Hovde Group started coverage on shares of First Community Bankshares in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock.

About First Community Bankshares

First Community Bankshares, Inc operates as the financial holding company for First Community Bank that provides various banking products and services. It offers demand deposit accounts, savings and money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement plans; and commercial, consumer real estate, and consumer and other loans.