First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.04 EPS

Key Points

• First Commonwealth Financial reported quarterly earnings of $0.38 per share, exceeding analysts' estimates of $0.34 by $0.04, with a net margin of 19.68%.
• The company announced a dividend increase to $0.135 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $0.54 and a yield of 3.35%.
• Analyst ratings on First Commonwealth Financial vary, with one sell rating, three hold ratings, and three buy ratings, alongside an average price target of $18.92.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The bank reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.04, Zacks reports. First Commonwealth Financial had a net margin of 19.68% and a return on equity of 9.80%.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FCF traded down $0.21 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $16.11. 565,972 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 707,046. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $16.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.92. First Commonwealth Financial has a 52-week low of $13.54 and a 52-week high of $19.96.

First Commonwealth Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a dividend of $0.135 per share. This represents a $0.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. This is a boost from First Commonwealth Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. First Commonwealth Financial's payout ratio is presently 40.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FCF has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped 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 report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered 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 decreased 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 research note on Friday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $18.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Commonwealth Financial news, Director Todd D. Brice bought 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $16.09 per share, with a total value of $112,630.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 10,500 shares in the company, valued at $168,945. This trade represents a 200.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.17% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 700.8% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 384,829 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,980,000 after purchasing an additional 336,775 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 214.9% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 108,604 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,688,000 after purchasing an additional 74,117 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 15.0% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 194,601 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,024,000 after acquiring an additional 25,310 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 9.9% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 242,968 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,776,000 after acquiring an additional 21,839 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 12.6% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 188,826 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,935,000 after buying an additional 21,108 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.58% of the company's stock.

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.

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