First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $21.00 and last traded at $21.0620, with a volume of 32045 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $20.64.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Commonwealth Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.33.

First Commonwealth Financial Trading Down 1.3%

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $19.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.43. 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 stock has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.95 and a beta of 0.74.

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

First Commonwealth Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This is a positive change from First Commonwealth Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. First Commonwealth Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 37.09%.

Insider Transactions at First Commonwealth Financial

In related news, CFO James R. Reske sold 2,072 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.50, for a total transaction of $42,476.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 77,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,582,682. This trade represents a 2.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Norman J. Montgomery sold 25,000 shares of First Commonwealth Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.34, for a total value of $458,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 63,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,156,667.12. The trade was a 28.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 49,430 shares of company stock worth $914,266 over the last quarter. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Commonwealth Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FCF. UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 103.0% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 210,197 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,544,000 after purchasing an additional 106,654 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 146.5% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 97,976 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,652,000 after buying an additional 58,229 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 147.1% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 239,641 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,040,000 after buying an additional 142,645 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 17.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 760,796 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,972,000 after buying an additional 111,586 shares during the period. Finally, MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in First Commonwealth Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $572,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.