First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.02 EPS

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) posted its earnings results on Tuesday. The bank reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.02, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $139.42 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $137.48 million. First Commonwealth Financial had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 21.19%.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Performance

First Commonwealth Financial stock traded up $0.48 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $21.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 865,168 shares, compared to its average volume of 808,776. 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 company has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.14 and a beta of 0.74. First Commonwealth Financial has a 1-year low of $15.00 and a 1-year high of $21.41. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $19.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.61.

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 analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.33.

First Commonwealth Financial News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting First Commonwealth Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 earnings beat expectations: GAAP net income rose to $44.6 million, or $0.44 per diluted share, from $37.5 million, or $0.37, in the prior quarter and $33.4 million, or $0.32, a year earlier. EPS exceeded the $0.42 consensus estimate, while revenue of $139.4 million also topped expectations of $137.5 million. First Commonwealth Financial quarterly earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Improving core performance: Fully taxable-equivalent net interest income increased to $112.8 million, and the net interest margin expanded to 4.01% from 3.92% in the previous quarter. The core efficiency ratio improved to 52.24%, supporting stronger operating leverage.
• Positive Sentiment: Shareholder returns increased: FCF authorized an additional $75 million share-repurchase program after buying back 645,695 shares during the quarter. It also declared a $0.14 quarterly dividend, up 3.7% year over year. First Commonwealth second-quarter earnings release
• Positive Sentiment: Asset quality and capital remain solid: Nonperforming loans declined to $81.6 million from $92.3 million, while total capital and common equity tier-one ratios remained well above regulatory requirements.
• Neutral Sentiment: Key risks: Net charge-offs increased to $11.4 million, or 0.49% of average loans, from $8.2 million in the prior quarter. Period-end deposits declined $149.8 million, lifting the loan-to-deposit ratio to 92.7%. Investors may also weigh extensive recent insider selling reported in the accompanying coverage.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Norman J. Montgomery sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,156,667.12. The trade was a 28.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO James R. Reske sold 2,072 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.50, for a total value of $42,476.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 77,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,582,682. This trade represents a 2.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 49,430 shares of company stock worth $914,266 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Commonwealth Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCF. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,854,021 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $81,839,000 after acquiring an additional 216,099 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,376,999 shares of the bank’s stock worth $73,796,000 after purchasing an additional 34,594 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 0.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,943,604 shares of the bank’s stock worth $67,238,000 after purchasing an additional 21,061 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,516,155 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,422,000 after purchasing an additional 162,079 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,467,460 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,607,000 after purchasing an additional 6,421 shares during the period. 72.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.