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

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Stephens lowered their target price on shares of First Commonwealth Financial from $16.50 to $15.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $17.00 target price on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a report on Tuesday, April 9th.

First Commonwealth Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FCF opened at $13.54 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. First Commonwealth Financial has a 1-year low of $11.16 and a 1-year high of $15.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.41 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $13.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.61.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. First Commonwealth Financial had a net margin of 24.96% and a return on equity of 12.89%. The company had revenue of $116.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $119.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that First Commonwealth Financial will post 1.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Commonwealth Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 131.0% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 189,922 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,644,000 after buying an additional 107,706 shares during the last quarter. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in First Commonwealth Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $407,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 50.5% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,666 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 2,236 shares during the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 128,096 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,978,000 after buying an additional 49,267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in First Commonwealth Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,066,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.