First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Key Points

• First Commonwealth Financial beat quarterly expectations: The bank reported EPS of $0.44 versus the $0.42 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $139.42 million compared with expectations of $137.48 million.
• Core performance and shareholder returns improved: Net interest income and net interest margin increased, the efficiency ratio improved, and the company authorized an additional $75 million share-repurchase program while raising its quarterly dividend 3.7% year over year.
• Shares rose, but investors face some risks: The stock gained 2.3% following the results, though net charge-offs increased, deposits declined, and insiders have sold about 49,430 shares over the past three months.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF - Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The bank reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.02, FiscalAI reports. First Commonwealth Financial had a net margin of 21.19% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The firm had revenue of $139.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $137.48 million.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of NYSE FCF traded up $0.48 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $21.35. The company had a trading volume of 865,168 shares, compared to its average volume of 808,776. First Commonwealth Financial has a 1-year low of $15.00 and a 1-year high of $21.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm's 50 day moving average is $19.83 and its 200-day moving average is $18.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.14 and a beta of 0.74.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Michael P. Mccuen sold 5,250 shares of First Commonwealth Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.58, for a total value of $97,545.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 56,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,056,477.38. This trade represents a 8.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Norman J. Montgomery sold 12,964 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.37, for a total transaction of $238,148.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 50,104 shares in the company, valued at $920,410.48. This represents a 20.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 49,430 shares of company stock valued at $914,266. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Commonwealth Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,854,021 shares of the bank's stock valued at $81,839,000 after buying an additional 216,099 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,376,999 shares of the bank's stock worth $73,796,000 after buying an additional 34,594 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,943,604 shares of the bank's stock worth $67,238,000 after buying an additional 21,061 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,516,155 shares of the bank's stock worth $42,422,000 after buying an additional 162,079 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,467,460 shares of the bank's stock worth $41,607,000 after buying an additional 6,421 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Key Headlines Impacting First Commonwealth Financial

Here are the key news stories impacting First Commonwealth Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 earnings beat expectations: GAAP net income rose to $44.6 million, or $0.44 per diluted share, from $37.5 million, or $0.37, in the prior quarter and $33.4 million, or $0.32, a year earlier. EPS exceeded the $0.42 consensus estimate, while revenue of $139.4 million also topped expectations of $137.5 million. First Commonwealth Financial quarterly earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Improving core performance: Fully taxable-equivalent net interest income increased to $112.8 million, and the net interest margin expanded to 4.01% from 3.92% in the previous quarter. The core efficiency ratio improved to 52.24%, supporting stronger operating leverage.
• Positive Sentiment: Shareholder returns increased: FCF authorized an additional $75 million share-repurchase program after buying back 645,695 shares during the quarter. It also declared a $0.14 quarterly dividend, up 3.7% year over year. First Commonwealth second-quarter earnings release
• Positive Sentiment: Asset quality and capital remain solid: Nonperforming loans declined to $81.6 million from $92.3 million, while total capital and common equity tier-one ratios remained well above regulatory requirements.
• Neutral Sentiment: Key risks: Net charge-offs increased to $11.4 million, or 0.49% of average loans, from $8.2 million in the prior quarter. Period-end deposits declined $149.8 million, lifting the loan-to-deposit ratio to 92.7%. Investors may also weigh extensive recent insider selling reported in the accompanying coverage.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.