First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

First Commonwealth Financial Co. (NYSE:FCF)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $19.85 and last traded at $19.75, with a volume of 23766 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $19.21.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on FCF. StockNews.com lowered First Commonwealth Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of First Commonwealth Financial from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Commonwealth Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.30.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.94. The company has a market cap of $1.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.93 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $121.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $119.47 million. First Commonwealth Financial had a net margin of 21.87% and a return on equity of 11.19%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.39 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that First Commonwealth Financial Co. will post 1.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Commonwealth Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.72%. First Commonwealth Financial’s payout ratio is currently 35.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Commonwealth Financial

In other news, EVP Michael P. Mccuen bought 2,919 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $16.99 per share, for a total transaction of $49,593.81. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,623 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $979,014.77. The trade was a 5.34 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Commonwealth Financial

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 451.1% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,995 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 1,633 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 2,572.6% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,657 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,595 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in First Commonwealth Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in First Commonwealth Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial during the second quarter worth about $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.58% of the company’s stock.

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.