First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) Sets New 12-Month High After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

First Commonwealth Financial Co. (NYSE:FCF) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $16.99 and last traded at $16.94, with a volume of 172223 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $16.62.

The bank reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.01. First Commonwealth Financial had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 23.39%. The firm had revenue of $120.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $118.34 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis.

First Commonwealth Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. First Commonwealth Financial’s payout ratio is 32.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded First Commonwealth Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on First Commonwealth Financial from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on First Commonwealth Financial from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on First Commonwealth Financial from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.13.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FCF. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 155.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,697,502 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,649,000 after acquiring an additional 1,639,667 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in First Commonwealth Financial during the 4th quarter worth $10,803,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 131.0% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 189,922 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,644,000 after buying an additional 107,706 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 43.2% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 286,934 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,430,000 after buying an additional 86,587 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in First Commonwealth Financial during the 4th quarter worth $1,066,000. 72.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Commonwealth Financial Trading Up 7.6 %

The company has a 50 day moving average of $14.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.90 billion, a PE ratio of 11.56 and a beta of 0.85.

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.