First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) EVP Sells $458,500.00 in Stock

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF) EVP Norman Montgomery sold 25,000 shares of First Commonwealth Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.34, for a total value of $458,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 63,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,156,667.12. The trade was a 28.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Performance

First Commonwealth Financial stock traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $18.47. 762,319 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 862,730. First Commonwealth Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $15.00 and a 52 week high of $19.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.23 and a beta of 0.75. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.26.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $133.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $134.32 million. First Commonwealth Financial had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 21.19%.The company’s revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.32 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that First Commonwealth Financial Corporation will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Commonwealth Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. This is a boost from First Commonwealth Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. First Commonwealth Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.09%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCF. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 12.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 188,826 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,935,000 after purchasing an additional 21,108 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 15.0% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 194,601 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,024,000 after purchasing an additional 25,310 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 5.1% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 60,483 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $940,000 after purchasing an additional 2,952 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 700.8% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 384,829 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,980,000 after purchasing an additional 336,775 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 9.9% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 242,968 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,776,000 after purchasing an additional 21,839 shares in the last quarter. 72.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FCF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of First Commonwealth Financial from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $20.00 price target on shares of First Commonwealth Financial and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.33.

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.