Graham Capital Management L.P. Acquires 6,890 Shares of First Commonwealth Financial Co. (NYSE:FCF)

Graham Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial Co. (NYSE:FCF) by 46.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,679 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,890 shares during the quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in First Commonwealth Financial were worth $367,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in First Commonwealth Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,147,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in First Commonwealth Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $304,000. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 121.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 211,797 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,631,000 after purchasing an additional 116,295 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 46.6% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 927,453 shares of the bank’s stock worth $15,693,000 after purchasing an additional 295,011 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 187.4% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 51,631 shares of the bank’s stock worth $847,000 after purchasing an additional 33,666 shares during the last quarter. 72.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FCF has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of First Commonwealth Financial from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of First Commonwealth Financial from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $21.50 price objective on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of First Commonwealth Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Commonwealth Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Commonwealth Financial news, Director Todd D. Brice bought 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $16.09 per share, for a total transaction of $112,630.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $168,945. This trade represents a 200.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.17% of the company’s stock.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:FCF opened at $16.10 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $15.27 and a 200-day moving average of $16.54. First Commonwealth Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $12.71 and a twelve month high of $19.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.58 and a beta of 0.77.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The bank reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.32. The business had revenue of $118.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.70 million. First Commonwealth Financial had a net margin of 20.38% and a return on equity of 10.36%. First Commonwealth Financial’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.37 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Commonwealth Financial Co. will post 1.45 EPS for the current year.

First Commonwealth Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.135 per share. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. This is an increase from First Commonwealth Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. First Commonwealth Financial’s payout ratio is currently 40.30%.

First Commonwealth Financial Profile

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.