First Trust Advisors LP Acquires 210,876 Shares of First Commonwealth Financial Co. (NYSE:FCF)

First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in First Commonwealth Financial Co. (NYSE:FCF - Free Report) by 19.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,268,410 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 210,876 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 1.25% of First Commonwealth Financial worth $21,461,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of FCF. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 15.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,435,002 shares of the bank's stock valued at $58,601,000 after buying an additional 456,119 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 46.6% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 927,453 shares of the bank's stock valued at $15,693,000 after purchasing an additional 295,011 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in First Commonwealth Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,536,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,956,654 shares of the bank's stock worth $66,947,000 after purchasing an additional 173,817 shares during the period. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial during the fourth quarter worth $2,456,000. 72.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on FCF. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on First Commonwealth Financial from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. 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 research note on Friday. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $21.00 target price on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $21.50 price objective on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded First Commonwealth Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $18.92.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Performance

Shares of First Commonwealth Financial stock traded up $0.35 during trading on Friday, hitting $15.86. 121,155 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 808,703. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $15.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. First Commonwealth Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $12.71 and a 1-year high of $19.96.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The bank reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32. First Commonwealth Financial had a return on equity of 10.36% and a net margin of 20.38%. The business had revenue of $118.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.37 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that First Commonwealth Financial Co. will post 1.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Commonwealth Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.135 per share. This is an increase from First Commonwealth Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $0.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. First Commonwealth Financial's payout ratio is presently 40.30%.

First Commonwealth Financial Profile

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.