Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New Investment in First Commonwealth Financial Corporation $FCF

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF) in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 45,500 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $800,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 621 shares in the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new position in First Commonwealth Financial during the third quarter worth $85,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 29.7% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,378 shares of the bank’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 1,460 shares during the last quarter. 72.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Down 0.2%

First Commonwealth Financial stock traded down $0.04 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $20.45. 10,908 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 807,906. The company’s 50-day moving average is $19.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.93. First Commonwealth Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $15.00 and a 52-week high of $20.87. The firm has a market cap of $2.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.54 and a beta of 0.74.

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 the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $133.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $134.32 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.32 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that First Commonwealth Financial Corporation will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current year.

First Commonwealth Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This is an increase from First Commonwealth Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. First Commonwealth Financial’s payout ratio is presently 37.09%.

Insider Transactions at First Commonwealth Financial

In other news, EVP Michael P. Mccuen sold 5,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,056,477.38. This trade represents a 8.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Norman J. Montgomery sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.34, for a total value of $458,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 63,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,156,667.12. This represents a 28.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 47,358 shares of company stock valued at $871,790. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.33.

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.