First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Hold Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 price target on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of First Commonwealth Financial from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $21.50 price target on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of First Commonwealth Financial from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.58.

First Commonwealth Financial Price Performance

Shares of FCF opened at $16.54 on Friday. First Commonwealth Financial has a fifty-two week low of $12.41 and a fifty-two week high of $19.96. The company has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.90 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.93.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.01). First Commonwealth Financial had a return on equity of 10.36% and a net margin of 20.38%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that First Commonwealth Financial will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current year.

First Commonwealth Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. First Commonwealth Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.41%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,483,405 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,099,000 after purchasing an additional 179,250 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new stake in First Commonwealth Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $629,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 128.9% in the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 8,011 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $136,000 after purchasing an additional 4,511 shares during the last quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $2,308,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 75,742 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,282,000 after purchasing an additional 6,733 shares during 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, a financial holding company, provides various consumer and commercial banking services in the United States. Its consumer services include personal checking accounts, interest-earning checking accounts, savings and health savings accounts, insured money market accounts, debit cards, investment certificates, fixed and variable rate certificates of deposit, mortgage loans, secured and unsecured installment loans, construction and real estate loans, safe deposit facilities, credit cards, credit lines with overdraft checking protection, IRA accounts, and automated teller machine (atm) services, as well as internet, mobile, and telephone banking services.