First Commonwealth Financial Co. (NYSE:FCF) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

by · The Cerbat Gem

First Commonwealth Financial Co. (NYSE:FCF – Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $19.58.

Several research firms have weighed in on FCF. StockNews.com cut shares of First Commonwealth Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $21.50 target price on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 price objective on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 30th.

View Our Latest Analysis on First Commonwealth Financial

Institutional Trading of First Commonwealth Financial

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 15.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,435,002 shares of the bank’s stock worth $58,601,000 after purchasing an additional 456,119 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 295,011 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,536,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,268,410 shares of the bank’s stock worth $21,461,000 after acquiring an additional 210,876 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,483,405 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,099,000 after acquiring an additional 179,250 shares during the last quarter. 72.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FCF opened at $14.09 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.14 and a beta of 0.84. First Commonwealth Financial has a 12 month low of $12.41 and a 12 month high of $19.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $16.07 and a 200-day moving average of $16.92.

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

First Commonwealth Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.69%. First Commonwealth Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.41%.

First Commonwealth Financial Company Profile

(Get Free Report

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.

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