Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New Investment in First Commonwealth Financial Co. (NYSE:FCF)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial Co. (NYSE:FCF) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 51,100 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $789,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System owned about 0.05% of First Commonwealth Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of FCF. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in First Commonwealth Financial during the third quarter worth $845,000. Waldron Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 10,699.1% in the third quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,204,858 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,711,000 after purchasing an additional 1,193,701 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 6.0% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 56,365 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $688,000 after purchasing an additional 3,208 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial in the third quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 8.8% in the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 35,469 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $433,000 after purchasing an additional 2,878 shares during the last quarter. 72.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of FCF opened at $13.54 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.41 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. First Commonwealth Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $11.16 and a 12 month high of $15.90. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $13.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.61.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $116.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $119.80 million. First Commonwealth Financial had a net margin of 24.96% and a return on equity of 12.89%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that First Commonwealth Financial Co. will post 1.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Commonwealth Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.84%. This is a boost from First Commonwealth Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. First Commonwealth Financial’s payout ratio is 31.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FCF shares. Stephens lowered their price target on First Commonwealth Financial from $16.50 to $15.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $17.00 price target on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded First Commonwealth Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday.

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.