First Community Bank (FCCO), a holding company for First Community Bank, delivered impressive financial results for the third quarter of 2024, exceeding both earnings and revenue expectations. The company reported earnings of $0.50 per share, outpacing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.45 per share, representing an earnings surprise of 11.11%. This follows a consistent pattern of exceeding expectations, as the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times in the past four quarters. Revenue also came in above projections, reaching $16.98 million, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.99%. This marks the fourth consecutive quarter where the company has exceeded revenue expectations.
While First Community’s stock has underperformed the market so far this year, the strong earnings report and positive outlook suggest a potentially bright future. The company’s earnings outlook, which encompasses current consensus earnings expectations and recent changes in these expectations, serves as a key indicator for investors. Historical data demonstrates a strong correlation between short-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions.
Following the recent earnings release, First Community’s estimate revisions trend is favorable. This positive trend, combined with the company’s impressive track record, has earned First Community a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), suggesting that the stock is expected to outperform the market in the near term. It’s worth noting that the industry outlook can significantly impact the performance of the stock. Currently, the Banks – Southeast industry, where First Community belongs, is ranked in the bottom 34% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. However, First Community’s strong performance and favorable outlook position it for potential growth despite the broader industry ranking.
Investors should carefully monitor upcoming earnings expectations and industry trends. The current consensus EPS estimate is $0.49 on $16.85 million in revenues for the next quarter and $1.69 on $65.05 million in revenues for the current fiscal year. It will be interesting to see how these estimates evolve in the coming months. National Bank Holdings (NBHC), another holding company from the same industry, is expected to release its earnings report on October 22. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. National Bank Holdings is projected to post quarterly earnings of $0.76 per share, representing a year-over-year change of -19.2%, and revenues of $102.32 million, down 4.5% from the year-ago quarter.
