First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Thursday morning.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and issued a $17.00 price objective on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Stephens dropped their target price on First Commonwealth Financial from $16.50 to $15.50 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 6th.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Performance

NYSE FCF opened at $13.55 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.42 and a beta of 0.87. First Commonwealth Financial has a fifty-two week low of $11.16 and a fifty-two week high of $15.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $116.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $119.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that First Commonwealth Financial will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current year.

First Commonwealth Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This is a positive change from First Commonwealth Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.84%. First Commonwealth Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.06%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mariner LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $32,855,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund acquired a new stake in First Commonwealth Financial in the third quarter valued at $746,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 3.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,774,932 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,882,000 after buying an additional 84,832 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 56,365 shares of the bank’s stock worth $688,000 after purchasing an additional 3,208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in First Commonwealth Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $332,000. 72.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.