MQS Management LLC Purchases Shares of 18,767 First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF)

MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 18,767 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $292,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FCF. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in First Commonwealth Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 815.8% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,187 shares of the bank's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 2,839 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 56.8% in 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 in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 69.2% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 4,578 shares of the bank's stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 1,873 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC raised its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 73.6% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,932 shares of the bank's stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 3,362 shares during the last quarter. 72.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Todd D. Brice acquired 7,000 shares of First Commonwealth Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $16.09 per share, for a total transaction of $112,630.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 10,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $168,945. This represents a 200.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.17% of the company's stock.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Up 0.3%

First Commonwealth Financial stock traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $16.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 879,455 shares, compared to its average volume of 636,153. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.43 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $16.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.92. First Commonwealth Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $13.54 and a 52-week high of $19.96.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The bank reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.32. The business had revenue of $118.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.70 million. First Commonwealth Financial had a net margin of 19.68% and a return on equity of 9.80%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.37 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that First Commonwealth Financial Corporation will post 1.45 EPS for the current year.

First Commonwealth Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a $0.135 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. 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%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.