StockNews.com Downgrades First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) to Sell

StockNews.com cut shares of First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on FCF. Stephens decreased their price target on shares of First Commonwealth Financial from $16.50 to $15.50 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th.

First Commonwealth Financial Price Performance

FCF stock opened at $13.55 on Thursday. First Commonwealth Financial has a one year low of $11.16 and a one year high of $15.90. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $13.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a PE ratio of 8.42 and a beta of 0.87.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $116.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $119.80 million. First Commonwealth Financial had a net margin of 24.96% and a return on equity of 12.89%. First Commonwealth Financial’s revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that First Commonwealth Financial will post 1.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Commonwealth Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This is a boost from First Commonwealth Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.84%. First Commonwealth Financial’s payout ratio is 32.30%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Emerald Advisers LLC bought a new position in First Commonwealth Financial during the third quarter valued at $49,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $74,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 50.5% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,666 shares of the bank’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 2,236 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial in the third quarter worth about $90,000. Finally, EMC Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 7.0% in the third quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 12,300 shares of the bank’s stock worth $150,000 after purchasing an additional 807 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.58% of the company’s stock.

About First Commonwealth Financial

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.