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

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $20.3333.

FCF has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on First Commonwealth Financial from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:FCF opened at $18.23 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.07 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $17.93 and its 200-day moving average is $17.39. First Commonwealth Financial has a 1-year low of $15.00 and a 1-year high of $19.14.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $134.32 million. First Commonwealth Financial had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 21.19%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that First Commonwealth Financial will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current year.

First Commonwealth Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. This is a positive change from First Commonwealth Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. First Commonwealth Financial’s payout ratio is presently 37.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Commonwealth Financial

In related news, EVP Norman J. Montgomery sold 12,964 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.37, for a total value of $238,148.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 50,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $920,410.48. The trade was a 20.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO James R. Reske sold 2,072 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 81,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,506,564.96. This represents a 2.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 44,180 shares of company stock worth $808,454. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Commonwealth Financial

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 453.3% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 215,591 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,790,000 after acquiring an additional 176,626 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 23.8% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 283,563 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,985,000 after acquiring an additional 54,439 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 71.5% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 85,958 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,511,000 after acquiring an additional 35,843 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 42.8% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 174,997 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,076,000 after acquiring an additional 52,410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. bought a new stake in First Commonwealth Financial during the first quarter valued at $198,000. 72.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.