First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF) Receives $18.90 Average PT from Analysts

Key Points

• First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF) has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from five analysts, with an average price target of $18.90.
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $0.38 EPS, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.34, alongside revenues of $131.33 million.
• A quarterly dividend of $0.135 per share, equating to an annualized dividend yield of 3.3%, has been declared and will be paid to shareholders on August 22nd.

Shares of First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the five research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $18.90.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FCF. Wall Street Zen raised First Commonwealth Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target 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 for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st.

First Commonwealth Financial Price Performance

First Commonwealth Financial stock traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $16.64. The company had a trading volume of 112,649 shares, compared to its average volume of 702,168. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $16.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.91. First Commonwealth Financial has a 12-month low of $13.54 and a 12-month high of $19.96. The company has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.80 and a beta of 0.84.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The bank reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.04. First Commonwealth Financial had a net margin of 18.94% and a return on equity of 9.71%. The business had revenue of $131.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $125.88 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.37 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that First Commonwealth Financial will post 1.45 EPS for the current year.

First Commonwealth Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a $0.135 dividend. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis 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 presently 41.54%.

Insider Activity at First Commonwealth Financial

In other 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 90,246 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,503,498.36. This represents a 2.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.17% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Commonwealth Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 23,857 shares of the bank's stock worth $404,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 32,879 shares of the bank's stock worth $556,000 after purchasing an additional 3,170 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 46.6% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 927,453 shares of the bank's stock worth $15,693,000 after buying an additional 295,011 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in First Commonwealth Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $4,536,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 13,402 shares of the bank's stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 705 shares during the period. 72.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.