MQS Management LLC Takes $292,000 Position in First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF)

MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 18,767 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $292,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 56.8% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,388 shares of the bank's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 1,227 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 85.5% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 52,473 shares of the bank's stock worth $888,000 after buying an additional 24,185 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $304,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $1,680,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 187.4% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 51,631 shares of the bank's stock valued at $847,000 after purchasing an additional 33,666 shares in the last quarter. 72.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at First Commonwealth Financial

In other news, Director Todd D. Brice acquired 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $16.09 per share, for a total transaction of $112,630.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 10,500 shares in the company, valued at $168,945. The trade was a 200.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut First Commonwealth Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of First Commonwealth Financial from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of First Commonwealth Financial from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $18.92.

First Commonwealth Financial Trading Down 0.2%

First Commonwealth Financial stock traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $16.87. The stock had a trading volume of 414,587 shares, compared to its average volume of 699,433. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market cap of $1.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.59 and a beta of 0.81. First Commonwealth Financial Corporation has a one year low of $13.54 and a one year high of $19.96. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $16.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.92.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The bank reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32. First Commonwealth Financial had a return on equity of 9.80% and a net margin of 19.68%. The company had revenue of $118.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.70 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.37 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that First Commonwealth Financial Corporation will post 1.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Commonwealth Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a dividend of $0.135 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $0.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. This is a boost from First Commonwealth Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. First Commonwealth Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.30%.

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.