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

Shares of First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage 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 research report on Tuesday, May 19th.

First Commonwealth Financial Price Performance

First Commonwealth Financial stock opened at $18.60 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.32 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.68. First Commonwealth Financial has a 12-month low of $15.00 and a 12-month high of $19.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last released 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). The firm had revenue of $133.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $134.32 million. First Commonwealth Financial had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 21.19%.First Commonwealth Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that First Commonwealth Financial will post 1.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Commonwealth Financial Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at First Commonwealth Financial

In related news, EVP Norman J. Montgomery sold 12,964 shares of First Commonwealth Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.37, for a total transaction of $238,148.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 50,104 shares in the company, valued at $920,410.48. This trade represents a 20.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO James R. Reske sold 2,072 shares of First Commonwealth Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.52, for a total transaction of $38,373.44. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 81,348 shares in the company, valued at $1,506,564.96. This represents a 2.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 42,108 shares of company stock worth $772,028 over the last quarter. 1.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Commonwealth Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FCF. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 2,250.5% during the 2nd 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. Smithfield Trust Co acquired a new stake in First Commonwealth Financial during the 4th quarter worth $51,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 20.7% during the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,621 shares of the bank’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 621 shares in the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new stake in First Commonwealth Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $85,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 58.5% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,285 shares of the bank’s stock worth $91,000 after acquiring 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.