Entropy Technologies LP Acquires New Position in First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF)

Key Points

• Entropy Technologies LP has acquired a new stake in First Commonwealth Financial Corporation with a total of 25,753 shares valued at approximately $400,000.
• Several institutional investors, including LPL Financial LLC and Wells Fargo & Company MN, have also increased their positions in First Commonwealth Financial during the past quarter.
• First Commonwealth Financial recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.135 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.2% and a payout ratio of 41.54%.

Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 25,753 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $400,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 5.1% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,159,706 shares of the bank's stock valued at $64,642,000 after purchasing an additional 203,052 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,483,405 shares of the bank's stock valued at $25,099,000 after purchasing an additional 179,250 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,268,410 shares of the bank's stock valued at $21,461,000 after purchasing an additional 210,876 shares during the period. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA increased its stake 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 valued at $15,747,000 after purchasing an additional 5,055 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 3.4% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 576,222 shares of the bank's stock valued at $8,954,000 after acquiring an additional 18,825 shares in the last quarter. 72.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other First Commonwealth Financial news, CFO James R. Reske sold 2,190 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.66, for a total value of $36,485.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 90,246 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,503,498.36. This represents a 2.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FCF. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Commonwealth Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered 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 report on Friday, May 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Commonwealth Financial currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $18.90.

First Commonwealth Financial Price Performance

FCF stock traded down $0.25 during trading on Friday, reaching $16.70. 1,015,202 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 714,302. The company has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.85 and a beta of 0.84. First Commonwealth Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $13.54 and a 52-week high of $19.96. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $16.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The bank reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $131.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $0.37 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that First Commonwealth Financial Corporation will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Commonwealth Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a $0.135 dividend. This represents a $0.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. First Commonwealth Financial's dividend payout ratio is 41.54%.

About First Commonwealth Financial

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.