Edgestream Partners L.P. Acquires New Shares in First Commonwealth Financial Corporation $FCF

Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 347,096 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $5,633,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. owned about 0.33% of First Commonwealth Financial as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of FCF. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 52.5% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 41,877 shares of the bank’s stock worth $651,000 after acquiring an additional 14,419 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 1.2% in the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 123,753 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,923,000 after purchasing an additional 1,514 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 2,911.4% in the 1st 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 period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 16,715 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 918 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,159,706 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $64,642,000 after buying an additional 203,052 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on FCF. Zacks Research lowered First Commonwealth Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, DA Davidson cut shares of First Commonwealth Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Commonwealth Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.63.

Insider Transactions at First Commonwealth Financial

In related news, CFO James R. Reske sold 2,190 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 6th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,458,863.34. This trade represents a 2.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael P. Mccuen bought 3,090 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $16.19 per share, for a total transaction of $50,027.10. Following the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 62,111 shares in the company, valued at $1,005,577.09. This trade represents a 5.24% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,898 shares of company stock worth $99,664. Insiders own 2.17% of the company’s stock.

First Commonwealth Financial Trading Up 0.6%

First Commonwealth Financial stock opened at $16.52 on Wednesday. First Commonwealth Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $13.54 and a 12-month high of $19.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.97 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $16.22 and a 200 day moving average of $16.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The bank reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $135.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $136.30 million. First Commonwealth Financial had a return on equity of 10.12% and a net margin of 20.00%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.31 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that First Commonwealth Financial Corporation will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current year.

First Commonwealth Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were paid a $0.135 dividend. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. First Commonwealth Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.13%.

First Commonwealth Financial declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, December 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $25.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to buy up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.