First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $18.42 and last traded at $18.4450, with a volume of 224574 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.03.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on FCF. DA Davidson downgraded shares of First Commonwealth Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $21.00 target price for the company. Raymond James Financial set a $20.00 target price on First Commonwealth Financial and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on First Commonwealth Financial from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Commonwealth Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.75.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Up 1.4%

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.86. The company has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.91 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $137.82 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $135.63 million. First Commonwealth Financial had a return on equity of 10.43% and a net margin of 20.88%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.35 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Commonwealth Financial Corporation will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current year.

First Commonwealth Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be paid a $0.135 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. First Commonwealth Financial’s payout ratio is currently 36.99%.

First Commonwealth Financial announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, December 1st that permits the company to repurchase $25.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to purchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO James R. Reske sold 2,072 shares of First Commonwealth Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.74, for a total value of $34,685.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 80,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,344,406.14. The trade was a 2.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Michael P. Mccuen purchased 3,090 shares of First Commonwealth Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $16.19 per share, with a total value of $50,027.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 62,111 shares in the company, valued at $1,005,577.09. The trade was a 5.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,555 shares of company stock worth $90,752. Insiders own 2.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Commonwealth Financial

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 2,250.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,609 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 2,498 shares during the period. iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $85,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 58.5% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,285 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,378 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 1,460 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 10.0% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,724 shares of the bank’s stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 792 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.58% of the company’s stock.

About First Commonwealth Financial

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.