86,500 Shares in First Commonwealth Financial Corporation $FCF Acquired by Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired 86,500 shares of First Commonwealth Financial Corporation, valuing the investment at approximately $1,344,000, representing a 0.08% stake in the bank.
• Several large investors, including AQR Capital Management LLC and Royal Bank of Canada, increased their holdings in First Commonwealth Financial during the 1st quarter, indicating growing interest in the bank's stock.
• First Commonwealth Financial recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.135 per share, with an annualized yield of 3.1%, reinforcing its commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake 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. The firm purchased 86,500 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,344,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned 0.08% of First Commonwealth Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 15.0% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 194,601 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,024,000 after purchasing an additional 25,310 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in First Commonwealth Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $474,000. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 188,826 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,935,000 after purchasing an additional 21,108 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 180.7% in the 1st quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 34,417 shares of the bank's stock valued at $535,000 after purchasing an additional 22,157 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 239.8% in the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 15,555 shares of the bank's stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 10,977 shares during the period. 72.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Commonwealth Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $18.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Commonwealth Financial news, EVP Michael P. Mccuen bought 2,826 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $17.67 per share, for a total transaction of $49,935.42. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 59,021 shares in the company, valued at $1,042,901.07. This trade represents a 5.03% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO James R. Reske sold 2,190 shares of First Commonwealth Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.74, for a total transaction of $38,850.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 88,056 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,562,113.44. The trade was a 2.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Performance

First Commonwealth Financial stock opened at $17.69 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $17.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market cap of $1.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.61 and a beta of 0.85. First Commonwealth Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $13.54 and a fifty-two week high of $19.96.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The bank reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $131.33 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $125.88 million. First Commonwealth Financial had a net margin of 18.94% and a return on equity of 9.71%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.37 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that First Commonwealth Financial Corporation will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Commonwealth Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were given a $0.135 dividend. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. First Commonwealth Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.54%.

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.

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