Brokerages Set First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF) Price Target at $18.92

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $18.92.

A number of brokerages recently commented on FCF. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of First Commonwealth Financial from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of First Commonwealth Financial from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of First Commonwealth Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Todd D. Brice purchased 7,000 shares of First Commonwealth Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $16.09 per share, for a total transaction of $112,630.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $168,945. The trade was a 200.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 2.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Commonwealth Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 82,687 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,281,000 after acquiring an additional 8,828 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 576,222 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,954,000 after purchasing an additional 18,825 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $484,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 21,680 shares of the bank’s stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 2,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 46.6% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 927,453 shares of the bank’s stock worth $15,693,000 after purchasing an additional 295,011 shares in the last quarter. 72.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Commonwealth Financial Price Performance

Shares of FCF opened at $16.66 on Monday. First Commonwealth Financial has a fifty-two week low of $13.54 and a fifty-two week high of $19.96. The company has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.43 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The bank reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32. The firm had revenue of $118.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.70 million. First Commonwealth Financial had a net margin of 19.68% and a return on equity of 9.80%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.37 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that First Commonwealth Financial will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current year.

First Commonwealth Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were given a dividend of $0.135 per share. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. This is an increase from First Commonwealth Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. First Commonwealth Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.30%.

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.