MQS Management LLC Purchases Shares of 33,906 First Commonwealth Financial Corporation $FCF

MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 33,906 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $572,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FCF. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 112.9% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,091,740 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $18,614,000 after buying an additional 578,893 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 2.4% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,734,957 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $76,848,000 after buying an additional 112,731 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 17.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 760,796 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,972,000 after buying an additional 111,586 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 103.0% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 210,197 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,544,000 after buying an additional 106,654 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial during the second quarter valued at about $1,704,000. 72.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO James R. Reske sold 2,072 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.52, for a total value of $38,373.44. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 81,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,506,564.96. This represents a 2.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Norman J. Montgomery sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.34, for a total transaction of $458,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 63,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,156,667.12. This trade represents a 28.39% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 44,180 shares of company stock worth $808,454. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Performance

FCF opened at $18.60 on Friday. First Commonwealth Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $15.00 and a 52-week high of $19.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.31 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $18.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.49.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last posted 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). First Commonwealth Financial had a net margin of 21.19% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The company had revenue of $133.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $134.32 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.32 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that First Commonwealth Financial Corporation will post 1.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Commonwealth Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. This is an increase from First Commonwealth Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. First Commonwealth Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on FCF. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of First Commonwealth Financial from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.33.

First Commonwealth Financial Company Profile

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.