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

Shares of First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $19.75.

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

First Commonwealth Financial Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of First Commonwealth Financial stock opened at $16.78 on Friday. First Commonwealth Financial has a fifty-two week low of $13.54 and a fifty-two week high of $19.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.95. The company has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.49 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a fifty day moving average of $17.73 and a 200 day moving average of $17.06.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.02. First Commonwealth Financial had a return on equity of 10.43% and a net margin of 20.88%.The business had revenue of $137.82 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $135.63 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.35 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Commonwealth Financial will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Commonwealth Financial announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, December 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $25.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to reacquire up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

First Commonwealth Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a $0.135 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $0.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. First Commonwealth Financial’s payout ratio is presently 36.99%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jane Grebenc sold 18,598 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.85, for a total transaction of $350,572.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 158,975 shares in the company, valued at $2,996,678.75. This trade represents a 10.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO James R. Reske sold 2,072 shares of First Commonwealth Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.58, for a total value of $36,425.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 85,492 shares in the company, valued at $1,502,949.36. This trade represents a 2.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 22,742 shares of company stock valued at $421,683 in the last three months. Insiders own 2.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Commonwealth Financial

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $746,000. DGS Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in First Commonwealth Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $175,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new position in First Commonwealth Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $907,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,516,155 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,422,000 after buying an additional 162,079 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 23.4% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 367,438 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,195,000 after buying an additional 69,728 shares in the last quarter. 72.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.