First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) Receives New Coverage from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF – Get Rating) in a report issued on Thursday. The brokerage issued a sell rating on the bank’s stock.

Separately, Raymond James downgraded shares of First Commonwealth Financial from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Commonwealth Financial presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $15.90.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Performance

First Commonwealth Financial stock opened at $12.67 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. First Commonwealth Financial has a 12-month low of $12.21 and a 12-month high of $16.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.32 and a beta of 0.98.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 24th. The bank reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.05). First Commonwealth Financial had a net margin of 29.90% and a return on equity of 12.36%. The business had revenue of $120.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $113.63 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.37 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that First Commonwealth Financial will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Commonwealth Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 2nd. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.79%. First Commonwealth Financial’s payout ratio is presently 35.29%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ray T. Charley purchased 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $13.26 per share, with a total value of $53,040.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 313,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,152,687.24. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO T Michael Price purchased 13,212 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $13.87 per share, with a total value of $183,250.44. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 321,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,462,755.72. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ray T. Charley purchased 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $13.26 per share, with a total value of $53,040.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 313,174 shares in the company, valued at $4,152,687.24. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Commonwealth Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY increased its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 5,758 shares of the bank’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 710 shares in the last quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC bought a new stake in First Commonwealth Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $116,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 237.0% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 9,955 shares of the bank’s stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 7,001 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 10,234 shares of the bank’s stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 1,739 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in First Commonwealth Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $136,000. 69.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Commonwealth Financial Company Profile

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First Commonwealth Financial Corp. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of consumer and commercial banking services. The firm is also involved in providing trust and wealth management services and offers insurance products. The company was founded on November 15, 1982 and is headquartered in Indiana, PA.