First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $20.05 and last traded at $20.03, with a volume of 618932 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $19.70.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Commonwealth Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.33.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.99. The firm has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a PE ratio of 13.26 and a beta of 0.75.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The bank reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.03). First Commonwealth Financial had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 21.19%.The company had revenue of $133.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $134.32 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.32 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that First Commonwealth Financial Corporation will post 1.71 EPS for the current year.

First Commonwealth Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This is an increase from First Commonwealth Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. First Commonwealth Financial’s payout ratio is presently 37.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Norman J. Montgomery sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.34, for a total transaction of $458,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 63,068 shares in the company, valued at $1,156,667.12. This trade represents a 28.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO James R. Reske sold 2,072 shares of First Commonwealth Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.93, for a total transaction of $39,222.96. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 79,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,500,694.68. This trade represents a 2.55% 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. Insiders sold a total of 49,430 shares of company stock worth $908,796 over the last three months. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Commonwealth Financial

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 2,498 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial in the fourth quarter worth $51,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 20.7% during the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,621 shares of the bank’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 621 shares during the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new position in First Commonwealth Financial during the third quarter valued at $85,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 29.7% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,378 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 1,460 shares during the last quarter. 72.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.