First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts have a “Moderate Buy” consensus on First Commonwealth Financial, with four buy ratings and three hold ratings. The average 12-month price target is $24.25, above the reported $21.30 share price.
• The bank exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.44 in earnings per share versus the $0.42 consensus estimate and revenue of $139.42 million versus $137.48 million expected.
• First Commonwealth pays a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share, equivalent to a 2.6% annualized yield; institutional investors own 72.58% of the company, while recent insider activity included CFO James Reske selling shares under a Rule 10b5-1 plan.

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seven analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $24.25.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on First Commonwealth Financial from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a report on Friday, August 14th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $24.00 price objective on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on First Commonwealth Financial from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $25.00 target price (up from $21.00) on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research report on Thursday, July 30th.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of FCF opened at $21.30 on Friday. First Commonwealth Financial has a fifty-two week low of $15.00 and a fifty-two week high of $22.34. The company's fifty day moving average is $21.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.39. The firm has a market cap of $2.15 billion, a PE ratio of 13.06 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The bank reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $139.42 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $137.48 million. First Commonwealth Financial had a return on equity of 10.79% and a net margin of 22.62%. Analysts forecast that First Commonwealth Financial will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

First Commonwealth Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th were paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. First Commonwealth Financial's payout ratio is currently 34.36%.

Insider Transactions at First Commonwealth Financial

In other news, CFO James Reske sold 2,072 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.25, for a total value of $44,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 73,060 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,552,525. This represents a 2.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 6,216 shares of company stock worth $131,779 in the last ninety days. 1.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Commonwealth Financial

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new position in First Commonwealth Financial in the second quarter valued at about $706,000. MCF Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP raised its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 72.6% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 41,083 shares of the bank's stock valued at $835,000 after acquiring an additional 17,283 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in First Commonwealth Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $564,000. 72.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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