First Commonwealth Financial Co. (NYSE:FCF) Short Interest Up 32.2% in April

First Commonwealth Financial Co. (NYSE:FCF - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,560,000 shares, a growth of 32.2% from the April 15th total of 1,180,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 497,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.1 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on FCF. StockNews.com raised shares of First Commonwealth Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Stephens cut their price target on First Commonwealth Financial from $16.50 to $15.50 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $17.00 price objective on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a report on Tuesday, April 9th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Commonwealth Financial

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,569,502 shares of the bank's stock valued at $101,435,000 after acquiring an additional 28,553 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,798,856 shares of the bank's stock worth $43,214,000 after purchasing an additional 23,924 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 155.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,697,502 shares of the bank's stock worth $41,649,000 after buying an additional 1,639,667 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial in the third quarter worth about $32,855,000. Finally, First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA boosted its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 6.9% during the first quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA now owns 960,725 shares of the bank's stock worth $13,373,000 after acquiring an additional 61,823 shares during the last quarter. 72.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Commonwealth Financial Price Performance

Shares of First Commonwealth Financial stock traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $14.02. The stock had a trading volume of 347,907 shares, compared to its average volume of 491,393. First Commonwealth Financial has a twelve month low of $11.16 and a twelve month high of $15.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a PE ratio of 8.71 and a beta of 0.86. The stock's 50 day moving average is $13.40 and its 200 day moving average is $13.75.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. First Commonwealth Financial had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 24.96%. The company had revenue of $116.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $119.80 million. First Commonwealth Financial's quarterly revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. Equities analysts expect that First Commonwealth Financial will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Commonwealth Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. This is a boost from First Commonwealth Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. First Commonwealth Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.30%.

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.