First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF) Receives $19.75 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Shares of First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $19.75.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on FCF shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on First Commonwealth Financial from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Raymond James Financial set a $20.00 target price on First Commonwealth Financial and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler assumed coverage on First Commonwealth Financial in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $21.00 price target for the company.

Insider Activity at First Commonwealth Financial

In related news, CFO James R. Reske sold 2,072 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.74, for a total transaction of $34,685.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 80,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,344,406.14. This trade represents a 2.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jane Grebenc sold 18,598 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.85, for a total transaction of $350,572.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 158,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,996,678.75. This represents a 10.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 22,635 shares of company stock valued at $417,719 in the last three months. 2.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FCF. DGS Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $175,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $907,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,516,155 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,422,000 after purchasing an additional 162,079 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 23.4% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 367,438 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,195,000 after buying an additional 69,728 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in First Commonwealth Financial in the 4th quarter worth $15,685,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.58% of the company’s stock.

First Commonwealth Financial Trading Down 3.2%

Shares of First Commonwealth Financial stock opened at $17.52 on Tuesday. First Commonwealth Financial has a 1 year low of $13.54 and a 1 year high of $19.08. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.08. The firm has a market cap of $1.82 billion, a PE ratio of 12.00 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.02. First Commonwealth Financial had a net margin of 20.88% and a return on equity of 10.43%. The company had revenue of $137.82 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $135.63 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.35 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that First Commonwealth Financial will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Commonwealth Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a $0.135 dividend. This represents a $0.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. First Commonwealth Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.99%.

First Commonwealth Financial announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, December 1st that permits the company to buyback $25.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to reacquire up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

About First Commonwealth Financial

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation, headquartered in Indiana, Pennsylvania, is a bank holding company whose primary subsidiary is First Commonwealth Bank. Established in 1889 as Indiana National Bank, the company has grown through a combination of organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to build a diversified platform of commercial banking, retail banking and wealth management services.

First Commonwealth offers a comprehensive suite of financial products, including deposit accounts, personal and business lending solutions, mortgage origination and servicing, treasury management, and trust and investment services.