First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• First Commonwealth Financial Corporation has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from five research firms, with two hold and three buy recommendations.
• CFO James R. Reske recently sold 2,190 shares, while EVP Michael P. McCuen bought 2,826 shares, indicating mixed insider activity within the company.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.135 per share, reflecting a 3.1% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 41.54%.

Shares of First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the five research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $18.90.

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded First Commonwealth Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd.

Insider Activity at First Commonwealth Financial

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Commonwealth Financial

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 2,911.4% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,379 shares of the bank's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 2,300 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 2,250.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,609 shares of the bank's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 2,498 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 109.6% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,438 shares of the bank's stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 2,321 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 73.6% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,932 shares of the bank's stock worth $123,000 after buying an additional 3,362 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $156,000. 72.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Commonwealth Financial Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:FCF opened at $17.37 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.36 and a beta of 0.85. First Commonwealth Financial has a 1-year low of $13.54 and a 1-year high of $19.96. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $17.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.16. 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $131.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $125.88 million. First Commonwealth Financial had a return on equity of 9.71% and a net margin of 18.94%.During the same period last year, the company posted $0.37 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that First Commonwealth Financial will post 1.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Commonwealth Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a dividend of $0.135 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. First Commonwealth Financial's payout ratio is currently 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.