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

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

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Raymond James Financial set a $20.00 target price on shares of First Commonwealth Financial and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. 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 research note on Thursday, January 29th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Commonwealth Financial news, CFO James R. Reske sold 2,072 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.86, for a total transaction of $37,005.92. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 83,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,489,881.20. The trade was a 2.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Jane Grebenc sold 18,598 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 158,975 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,996,678.75. This represents a 10.47% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 22,742 shares of company stock worth $424,004. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Commonwealth Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP acquired a new position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial during the third quarter valued at about $1,160,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 17.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 760,796 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,972,000 after purchasing an additional 111,586 shares during the period. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 102.1% during the third quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 779,194 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,285,000 after purchasing an additional 393,681 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 146.5% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 97,976 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,652,000 after purchasing an additional 58,229 shares during the period. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 14.0% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 406,469 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,930,000 after purchasing an additional 49,853 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.58% of the company’s stock.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of FCF opened at $18.55 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.16. The company has a market cap of $1.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.70 and a beta of 0.76. First Commonwealth Financial has a one year low of $14.31 and a one year high of $19.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $137.82 million for 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%. The company’s revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.35 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that First Commonwealth Financial will post 1.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Commonwealth Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a dividend of $0.135 per share. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. First Commonwealth Financial’s payout ratio is presently 36.99%.

First Commonwealth Financial Company Profile

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.