First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

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

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

First Commonwealth Financial Price Performance

NYSE:FCF opened at $20.50 on Monday. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $18.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.58 and a beta of 0.75. First Commonwealth Financial has a 12-month low of $15.00 and a 12-month high of $20.57.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm 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 earned $0.32 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that First Commonwealth Financial will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current year.

First Commonwealth Financial Increases Dividend

The company 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This is a positive change from First Commonwealth Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. First Commonwealth Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Commonwealth Financial news, EVP Michael P. Mccuen sold 5,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.58, for a total transaction of $97,545.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 56,861 shares in the company, valued at $1,056,477.38. This trade represents a 8.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO James R. Reske sold 2,072 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 79,276 shares in the company, valued at $1,500,694.68. The trade was a 2.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 49,430 shares of company stock worth $908,796 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Commonwealth Financial

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FCF. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 2,498 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co acquired a new position in First Commonwealth Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,621 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 621 shares in the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new position in First Commonwealth Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $85,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 29.7% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,378 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 1,460 shares in the last quarter. 72.58% of the stock is currently owned by 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.