First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) Hits New 12-Month High - Here's Why

Key Points

• First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE: FCF) hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $19.73, reflecting recent bullish momentum in the stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but constructive: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating with a price target of $20.33, and Weiss Ratings reiterated a buy rating.
• The company recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.14 per share, while insiders also sold shares in recent transactions, including EVP Michael P. Mccuen and CFO James R. Reske.

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $19.73 and last traded at $19.6950, with a volume of 471581 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.53.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $20.33.

First Commonwealth Financial Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $18.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion, a PE ratio of 12.98 and a beta of 0.75.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.03). First Commonwealth Financial had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 21.19%.The firm had revenue of $133.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $134.32 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. First Commonwealth Financial's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that First Commonwealth Financial Corporation will post 1.71 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 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a $0.14 dividend. This is a boost from First Commonwealth Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. First Commonwealth Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.09%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Michael P. Mccuen sold 5,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.58, for a total value of $97,545.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 56,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,056,477.38. The trade was a 8.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO James R. Reske sold 2,072 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.93, for a total value of $39,222.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 79,276 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,500,694.68. This trade represents a 2.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 49,430 shares of company stock valued at $908,796. Insiders own 1.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 20,253 shares of the bank's stock valued at $341,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 20.7% during the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,621 shares of the bank's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 17,801 shares of the bank's stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 94,031 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,585,000 after acquiring an additional 875 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 300,680 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,880,000 after acquiring an additional 1,068 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.58% of the company's stock.

First Commonwealth Financial Company Profile

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation, headquartered in Indiana, Pennsylvania, is a bank holding company whose primary subsidiary is First Commonwealth Bank. Established in 1889 as Indiana National Bank, the company has grown through a combination of organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to build a diversified platform of commercial banking, retail banking and wealth management services.

First Commonwealth offers a comprehensive suite of financial products, including deposit accounts, personal and business lending solutions, mortgage origination and servicing, treasury management, and trust and investment services.

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