First Community Analyst Turns Bullish After Q4 Print: 'Conversations With Borrowers Picked Up'
Portfolio Pulse from Priya Nigam
First Community Corp (NASDAQ:FCCO) saw its shares rise in premarket trading after reporting Q4 earnings that exceeded expectations. Raymond James analyst Steve Moss upgraded FCCO from Market Perform to Outperform with a price target of $21, citing potential benefits from Federal Reserve rate cuts and organic growth in South Carolina and Georgia. The earnings beat was attributed to higher net interest income, fees, and lower expenses. Despite a softened loan pipeline in Q4, borrower conversations have increased since the year's start, with an 8% commercial loan growth expected in 2024. Non-performing assets (NPAs) remained low, and the loan loss reserve (LLR) ratio is expected to rise slightly by the end of 2024. FCCO's stock price increased by 2.82% to $18.98 in premarket trading.
January 25, 2024 | 3:44 pm
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POSITIVE IMPACT
First Community Corp's Q4 earnings beat and subsequent analyst upgrade to Outperform with a $21 price target by Raymond James could provide a positive short-term impact on FCCO's stock price.
The positive earnings report and the upgrade by a reputable analyst typically lead to increased investor confidence and can drive up the stock price in the short term. The establishment of a new price target above the current trading price suggests an expectation of stock appreciation, which can further fuel buying interest.
CONFIDENCE 90
IMPORTANCE 85
RELEVANCE 100