First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) EVP Sells $238,148.68 in Stock

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF) EVP Norman Montgomery sold 12,964 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.37, for a total value of $238,148.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 50,104 shares in the company, valued at $920,410.48. This represents a 20.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Up 0.0%

FCF stock traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $18.47. The company had a trading volume of 762,319 shares, compared to its average volume of 862,730. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $1.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.23 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.26. First Commonwealth Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $15.00 and a fifty-two week high of $19.14.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 21.19% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The company had revenue of $133.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $134.32 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.32 EPS. First Commonwealth Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that First Commonwealth Financial Corporation will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Commonwealth Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This is a boost from First Commonwealth Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. First Commonwealth Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 37.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Raymond James Financial set a $20.00 target price on First Commonwealth Financial and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on First Commonwealth Financial from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $15,685,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 112.9% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,091,740 shares of the bank’s stock worth $18,614,000 after acquiring an additional 578,893 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,854,021 shares of the bank’s stock worth $81,839,000 after acquiring an additional 216,099 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,516,155 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,422,000 after acquiring an additional 162,079 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 147.1% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 239,641 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,040,000 after acquiring an additional 142,645 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.58% of the company’s stock.

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.