First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) Shares Pass Above 200-Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• First Commonwealth Financial shares moved above their 200-day moving average on Monday, trading as high as $18.50 and last changing hands at $18.325, above the $17.42 long-term average.
• Analysts remain cautiously positive: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target to $20.00, and the stock now carries a consensus Moderate Buy rating with a $20.33 target.
• The bank posted quarterly earnings of $0.37 per share, slightly below estimates, but it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share, implying a 3.1% annualized yield.

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF - Get Free Report)'s stock price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $17.42 and traded as high as $18.50. First Commonwealth Financial shares last traded at $18.3250, with a volume of 968,182 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on FCF shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on First Commonwealth Financial from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, First Commonwealth Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $20.33.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $1.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.14 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.42.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.03). First Commonwealth Financial had a net margin of 21.19% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The business had revenue of $133.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $134.32 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.32 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that First Commonwealth Financial Corporation will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current year.

First Commonwealth Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. This is a boost from First Commonwealth Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. First Commonwealth Financial's payout ratio is 37.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Commonwealth Financial news, EVP Norman J. Montgomery sold 12,964 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.37, for a total value of $238,148.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 50,104 shares in the company, valued at $920,410.48. This trade represents a 20.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO James R. Reske sold 2,072 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.52, for a total value of $38,373.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 81,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,506,564.96. This represents a 2.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 44,180 shares of company stock worth $808,454. 1.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Commonwealth Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 2,250.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,609 shares of the bank's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 2,498 shares during the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 20.7% during the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,621 shares of the bank's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares during the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial during the third quarter worth about $85,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 58.5% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,285 shares of the bank's stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950 shares during the last quarter. 72.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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