Brokerages Set First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF) PT at $18.92

Shares of First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $18.92.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of First Commonwealth Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of First Commonwealth Financial from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of First Commonwealth Financial from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Commonwealth Financial news, Director Todd D. Brice purchased 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $16.09 per share, for a total transaction of $112,630.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 10,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $168,945. This represents a 200.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Commonwealth Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FCF. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 2,911.4% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,379 shares of the bank’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 2,300 shares during the last quarter. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 815.8% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,187 shares of the bank’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 2,839 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 56.8% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,388 shares of the bank’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 1,227 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 109.6% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,438 shares of the bank’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 2,321 shares during the period. 72.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Up 0.3%

FCF stock opened at $16.66 on Monday. First Commonwealth Financial has a one year low of $13.54 and a one year high of $19.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a PE ratio of 12.43 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a fifty day moving average of $16.06 and a 200-day moving average of $15.92.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The bank reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.32. First Commonwealth Financial had a net margin of 19.68% and a return on equity of 9.80%. The company had revenue of $118.51 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.70 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.37 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that First Commonwealth Financial will post 1.45 EPS for the current year.

First Commonwealth Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were given a dividend of $0.135 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. This is a positive change from First Commonwealth Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. First Commonwealth Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.30%.

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.