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

Shares of First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the six analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three 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 updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $18.92.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on FCF. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of First Commonwealth Financial from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of First Commonwealth Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target 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.

Insider Activity at First Commonwealth Financial

In related news, Director Todd D. Brice acquired 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $16.09 per share, for a total transaction of $112,630.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $168,945. This represents a 200.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Commonwealth Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 557,397 shares of the bank's stock worth $9,431,000 after acquiring an additional 18,433 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new position in First Commonwealth Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $207,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB acquired a new stake in First Commonwealth Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $257,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in First Commonwealth Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $304,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 173.4% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,396 shares of the bank's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 2,154 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.58% of the company's stock.

First Commonwealth Financial Price Performance

NYSE:FCF traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $15.40. 1,667,497 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 637,344. The business's 50-day moving average price is $15.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.04. The company has a market cap of $1.62 billion, a PE ratio of 11.49 and a beta of 0.81. First Commonwealth Financial has a 12-month low of $13.05 and a 12-month high of $19.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The bank reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts' expectations of $117.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.37 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that First Commonwealth Financial 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a $0.135 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This is an increase from First Commonwealth Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. First Commonwealth Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.30%.

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.