Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 18,825 Shares of First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 576,222 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 18,825 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.57% of First Commonwealth Financial worth $8,954,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in FCF. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 815.8% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,187 shares of the bank's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 2,839 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 56.8% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,388 shares of the bank's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,227 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 1,873 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC lifted its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 128.9% during the fourth quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 8,011 shares of the bank's stock worth $136,000 after buying an additional 4,511 shares during the period. 72.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FCF traded down $0.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $16.89. 344,133 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 635,072. First Commonwealth Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $13.54 and a 12 month high of $19.96. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $16.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market cap of $1.77 billion, a PE ratio of 12.61 and a beta of 0.81.

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

First Commonwealth Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were given a dividend of $0.135 per share. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. This is an increase from First Commonwealth Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. First Commonwealth Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Commonwealth Financial

In related news, Director Todd D. Brice acquired 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $16.09 per share, for a total transaction of $112,630.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $168,945. The trade was a 200.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 2.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FCF has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on First Commonwealth Financial from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on First Commonwealth Financial from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered First Commonwealth Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. One equities 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $18.92.

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.