First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) Director Todd Brice Acquires 1,000 Shares

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF) Director Todd Brice bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $18.58 per share, for a total transaction of $18,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 14,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $269,410. The trade was a 7.41% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

First Commonwealth Financial Trading Up 0.0%

First Commonwealth Financial stock opened at $18.47 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $1.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.23 and a beta of 0.75. First Commonwealth Financial Corporation has a one year low of $15.00 and a one year high of $19.14. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $17.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.26.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The bank reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $133.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $134.32 million. First Commonwealth Financial had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 21.19%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that First Commonwealth Financial Corporation will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Commonwealth Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 8th. This is a positive change from First Commonwealth Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. First Commonwealth Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on FCF shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Raymond James Financial set a $20.00 target price on shares of First Commonwealth Financial and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of First Commonwealth Financial from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Commonwealth Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Commonwealth Financial

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP bought a new position in First Commonwealth Financial during the third quarter worth about $1,160,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 17.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 760,796 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,972,000 after purchasing an additional 111,586 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 146.5% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 97,976 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,652,000 after purchasing an additional 58,229 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 14.0% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 406,469 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,930,000 after purchasing an additional 49,853 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 58.5% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,285 shares of the bank’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.58% 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.