First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

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

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on First Commonwealth Financial from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Commonwealth Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.70.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Performance

Shares of FCF stock opened at $16.88 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $17.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a PE ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 0.86. First Commonwealth Financial has a 1 year low of $12.41 and a 1 year high of $19.96.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $121.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $119.47 million. First Commonwealth Financial had a return on equity of 11.19% and a net margin of 21.87%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.39 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that First Commonwealth Financial will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Commonwealth Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. First Commonwealth Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Commonwealth Financial news, EVP Michael P. Mccuen bought 2,919 shares of First Commonwealth Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $16.99 per share, for a total transaction of $49,593.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,623 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $979,014.77. This represents a 5.34 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FCF. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 15.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,435,002 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $58,601,000 after purchasing an additional 456,119 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 15,623 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 633 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 121.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 211,797 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,631,000 after buying an additional 116,295 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 39.5% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 150,590 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,583,000 after acquiring an additional 42,632 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.58% of the company’s stock.

First Commonwealth Financial Company Profile

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.