Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 161,785 Shares of First Commonwealth Financial Corporation $FCF

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its position in First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF) by 1.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,519,236 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 161,785 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.11% of First Commonwealth Financial worth $196,403,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 2,250.5% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in 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 period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 46.9% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 10,480 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $170,000 after purchasing an additional 3,344 shares during the last quarter. Inceptionr LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $205,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 22.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,847 shares of the bank’s stock worth $209,000 after buying an additional 2,362 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on FCF. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $21.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Raymond James Financial set a $20.00 target price on First Commonwealth Financial and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on First Commonwealth Financial from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.75.

First Commonwealth Financial Trading Down 3.2%

Shares of FCF stock opened at $17.52 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.00 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.08. First Commonwealth Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $13.54 and a 1 year high of $19.08. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.02. First Commonwealth Financial had a return on equity of 10.43% and a net margin of 20.88%.The company had revenue of $137.82 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $135.63 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.35 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were issued a dividend of $0.135 per share. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. First Commonwealth Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 36.99%.

First Commonwealth Financial declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, December 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $25.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to repurchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at First Commonwealth Financial

In other First Commonwealth Financial news, EVP Jane Grebenc sold 18,598 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.85, for a total value of $350,572.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 158,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,996,678.75. This trade represents a 10.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO James R. Reske sold 2,072 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.74, for a total transaction of $34,685.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 80,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,344,406.14. The trade was a 2.52% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 22,635 shares of company stock worth $417,719 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.17% of the company’s stock.

First Commonwealth Financial Company Profile

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.