First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) EVP Sells $350,572.30 in Stock

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF) EVP Jane Grebenc sold 18,598 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.85, for a total value of $350,572.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 158,975 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,996,678.75. This trade represents a 10.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

First Commonwealth Financial Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of FCF opened at $18.34 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $1.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.56 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $17.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.93. First Commonwealth Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $13.54 and a 52-week high of $19.08.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.02. First Commonwealth Financial had a return on equity of 10.43% and a net margin of 20.88%.The company had revenue of $137.82 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $135.63 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.35 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that First Commonwealth Financial Corporation will post 1.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

First Commonwealth Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be paid a $0.135 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 6th. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. First Commonwealth Financial’s payout ratio is currently 36.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial set a $20.00 price target on shares of First Commonwealth Financial and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. DA Davidson downgraded First Commonwealth Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Piper Sandler started coverage on First Commonwealth Financial in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $21.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on First Commonwealth Financial from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp increased its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,734,957 shares of the bank’s stock worth $76,848,000 after purchasing an additional 112,731 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,943,604 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $67,238,000 after buying an additional 21,061 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 67.6% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,597,925 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $58,394,000 after acquiring an additional 1,451,544 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 2.3% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,528,250 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,039,000 after buying an additional 56,324 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 112.9% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,091,740 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $18,614,000 after purchasing an additional 578,893 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.58% of the company’s stock.

First Commonwealth Financial Company Profile

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation, headquartered in Indiana, Pennsylvania, is a bank holding company whose primary subsidiary is First Commonwealth Bank. Established in 1889 as Indiana National Bank, the company has grown through a combination of organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to build a diversified platform of commercial banking, retail banking and wealth management services.

First Commonwealth offers a comprehensive suite of financial products, including deposit accounts, personal and business lending solutions, mortgage origination and servicing, treasury management, and trust and investment services.