First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) Stock Price Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Shares of First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $17.94 and traded as high as $19.63. First Commonwealth Financial shares last traded at $19.5360, with a volume of 1,320,407 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Commonwealth Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.33.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.94 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $18.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The bank reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.03). First Commonwealth Financial had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 21.19%.The business had revenue of $133.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $134.32 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that First Commonwealth Financial Corporation will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current year.

First Commonwealth Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. This is a positive change from First Commonwealth Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. First Commonwealth Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Commonwealth Financial

In related news, CFO James R. Reske sold 2,072 shares of First Commonwealth Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.93, for a total transaction of $39,222.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 79,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,500,694.68. The trade was a 2.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Norman J. 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 transaction of $458,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 49,430 shares of company stock worth $908,796 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Commonwealth Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FCF. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $15,685,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 112.9% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,091,740 shares of the bank’s stock worth $18,614,000 after purchasing an additional 578,893 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 95.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 559,989 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,845,000 after purchasing an additional 273,351 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,854,021 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $81,839,000 after purchasing an additional 216,099 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 453.3% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 215,591 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,790,000 after purchasing an additional 176,626 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.58% of the company’s stock.

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.