First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $20.3333.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a report on Tuesday, May 19th.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:FCF opened at $19.18 on Thursday. First Commonwealth Financial has a 12-month low of $15.00 and a 12-month high of $19.37. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a PE ratio of 12.70 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $18.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.75.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $133.70 million during 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.32 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that First Commonwealth Financial will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Commonwealth Financial Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This is a positive change from First Commonwealth Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. First Commonwealth Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.09%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO James R. Reske sold 2,072 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.93, for a total value of $39,222.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 79,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,500,694.68. This trade represents a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Michael P. Mccuen sold 5,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.58, for a total value of $97,545.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 56,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,056,477.38. This trade represents a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 49,430 shares of company stock worth $908,796. 1.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Commonwealth Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 2,250.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,609 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 2,498 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 20.7% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,621 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares in the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $85,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 58.5% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,285 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950 shares in the last quarter. 72.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.