Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 18,825 Shares of First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF) by 3.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 576,222 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,825 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.57% of First Commonwealth Financial worth $8,954,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,992,712 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,717,000 after purchasing an additional 9,588 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,483,405 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,099,000 after purchasing an additional 179,250 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,268,410 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $21,461,000 after purchasing an additional 210,876 shares in the last quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA increased its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA now owns 930,673 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $15,747,000 after purchasing an additional 5,055 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 46.6% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 927,453 shares of the bank’s stock worth $15,693,000 after acquiring an additional 295,011 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FCF shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of First Commonwealth Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of First Commonwealth Financial from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of First Commonwealth Financial from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Commonwealth Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.92.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Up 1.0%

First Commonwealth Financial stock opened at $17.16 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.81 and a beta of 0.81. First Commonwealth Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $13.54 and a 1-year high of $19.96. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The bank reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32. The business had revenue of $118.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.70 million. First Commonwealth Financial had a net margin of 19.68% and a return on equity of 9.80%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.37 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that First Commonwealth Financial Corporation will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Commonwealth Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were given a $0.135 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. This is an increase from First Commonwealth Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. First Commonwealth Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Commonwealth Financial news, Director Todd D. Brice bought 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $16.09 per share, with a total value of $112,630.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 10,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $168,945. This trade represents a 200.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.17% of the company’s stock.

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.