First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Tuesday.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $21.00 target price on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $21.50 price target on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.58.

First Commonwealth Financial Price Performance

Shares of FCF opened at $14.57 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. First Commonwealth Financial has a twelve month low of $12.56 and a twelve month high of $19.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.48 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50 day moving average of $15.55 and a 200-day moving average of $16.73.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.01). First Commonwealth Financial had a net margin of 20.38% and a return on equity of 10.36%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First Commonwealth Financial will post 1.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Commonwealth Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. First Commonwealth Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.41%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Commonwealth Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $268,000 after buying an additional 633 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 13,402 shares of the bank’s stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 705 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 23,857 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $404,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares during the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP increased its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 17,398 shares of the bank’s stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 983 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 17,932 shares of the bank’s stock worth $303,000 after purchasing an additional 1,048 shares during the last quarter. 72.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.