Weiss Ratings Reaffirms “Buy (B-)” Rating for First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF)

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF)‘s stock had its “buy (b-)” rating reissued by stock analysts at Weiss Ratings in a research note issued on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on FCF. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Commonwealth Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of First Commonwealth Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.90.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Down 0.5%

FCF stock opened at $16.75 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.23. The company has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.88 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. First Commonwealth Financial has a 12 month low of $13.54 and a 12 month high of $19.96.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The bank reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.04. First Commonwealth Financial had a net margin of 18.94% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The business had revenue of $131.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $125.88 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.37 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First Commonwealth Financial will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Commonwealth Financial

In other First Commonwealth Financial news, EVP Michael P. Mccuen bought 2,826 shares of First Commonwealth Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $17.67 per share, for a total transaction of $49,935.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 59,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,042,901.07. This represents a 5.03% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO James R. Reske sold 2,190 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.99, for a total transaction of $37,208.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 85,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,458,863.34. This trade represents a 2.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 6,570 shares of company stock worth $112,544. Insiders own 2.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Commonwealth Financial

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. US Bancorp DE increased its position in 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. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 2,250.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,609 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 2,498 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 2,321 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 73.6% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,932 shares of the bank’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 3,362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC acquired a new stake in First Commonwealth Financial during the first quarter worth about $156,000. 72.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.