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

Shares of First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCFGet Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $19.75.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial set a $20.00 price objective on First Commonwealth Financial and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of First Commonwealth Financial from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. DA Davidson lowered shares of First Commonwealth Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $21.00 target price for the company.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on First Commonwealth Financial

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Up 1.2%

FCF stock opened at $17.81 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.20 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. First Commonwealth Financial has a twelve month low of $13.54 and a twelve month high of $18.42. The company’s 50 day moving average is $17.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.82.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCFGet Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $137.82 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $135.63 million. First Commonwealth Financial had a net margin of 20.88% and a return on equity of 10.43%. First Commonwealth Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.35 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that First Commonwealth Financial will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Commonwealth Financial announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, December 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $25.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to reacquire up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

First Commonwealth Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be issued a $0.135 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 6th. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. First Commonwealth Financial’s payout ratio is presently 36.99%.

First Commonwealth Financial News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting First Commonwealth Financial this week:

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Michael P. Mccuen acquired 3,090 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $16.19 per share, with a total value of $50,027.10. Following the purchase, the executive vice president owned 62,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,005,577.09. This represents a 5.24% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO James R. Reske sold 2,072 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.74, for a total transaction of $34,685.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 80,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,344,406.14. This trade represents a 2.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 5,555 shares of company stock worth $90,752. 2.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Commonwealth Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FCF. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in 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 worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 2,498 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 109.6% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,438 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 2,321 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 about $85,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 58.5% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,285 shares of the bank’s stock worth $91,000 after buying an additional 1,950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 10.0% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,724 shares of the bank’s stock worth $142,000 after buying an additional 792 shares during the period. 72.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Commonwealth Financial Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

See Also

Analyst Recommendations for First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF)

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