Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 48,783 Shares of First Commonwealth Financial Co. (NYSE:FCF)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP decreased its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial Co. (NYSE:FCF - Free Report) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,990,254 shares of the bank's stock after selling 48,783 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 6.87% of First Commonwealth Financial worth $118,275,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,956,654 shares of the bank's stock valued at $66,947,000 after buying an additional 173,817 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,435,002 shares of the bank's stock worth $58,601,000 after purchasing an additional 456,119 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,992,712 shares of the bank's stock valued at $33,717,000 after purchasing an additional 9,588 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,268,410 shares of the bank's stock worth $21,461,000 after buying an additional 210,876 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA grew its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA now owns 930,673 shares of the bank's stock worth $15,747,000 after buying an additional 5,055 shares during the last quarter. 72.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut First Commonwealth Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of First Commonwealth Financial from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of First Commonwealth Financial from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $21.00 target price on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $21.50 price target on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Commonwealth Financial has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $18.92.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Performance

FCF stock traded up $0.36 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $15.87. 121,155 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 614,249. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. First Commonwealth Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $12.71 and a twelve month high of $19.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 0.72.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The bank reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.32. First Commonwealth Financial had a return on equity of 10.36% and a net margin of 20.38%. The firm had revenue of $118.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.37 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that First Commonwealth Financial Co. will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current year.

First Commonwealth Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.135 per share. This represents a $0.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This is a positive change from First Commonwealth Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. First Commonwealth Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.30%.

First Commonwealth Financial Company 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.