Bank of Montreal Can Buys 1,048 Shares of First Commonwealth Financial Co. (NYSE:FCF)

Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial Co. (NYSE:FCF) by 6.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,932 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 1,048 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in First Commonwealth Financial were worth $303,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FCF. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 15.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,435,002 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $58,601,000 after purchasing an additional 456,119 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 46.6% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 927,453 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $15,693,000 after acquiring an additional 295,011 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in First Commonwealth Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $4,536,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,956,654 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $66,947,000 after buying an additional 173,817 shares during the period. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in First Commonwealth Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,456,000. 72.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE FCF opened at $15.03 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.92. First Commonwealth Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $12.71 and a 1 year high of $19.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a PE ratio of 10.81 and a beta of 0.72. The business’s 50-day moving average is $15.40 and its 200 day moving average is $16.68.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.01). First Commonwealth Financial had a return on equity of 10.36% and a net margin of 20.38%. Sell-side analysts forecast that First Commonwealth Financial Co. will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current year.

First Commonwealth Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. First Commonwealth Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FCF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $21.50 target price on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 price objective on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut First Commonwealth Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.58.

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.