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

StockNews.com downgraded shares of First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Wednesday morning.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded First Commonwealth Financial from a buy rating to a neutral rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $16.00 to $19.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on First Commonwealth Financial from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on First Commonwealth Financial from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on First Commonwealth Financial from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, First Commonwealth Financial has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $17.50.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FCF opened at $16.47 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $16.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.82. First Commonwealth Financial has a fifty-two week low of $11.16 and a fifty-two week high of $19.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.23 and a beta of 0.83.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $120.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $118.34 million. First Commonwealth Financial had a net margin of 23.39% and a return on equity of 12.14%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that First Commonwealth Financial will post 1.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Commonwealth Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.16%. First Commonwealth Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Michael P. Mccuen acquired 2,919 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $16.99 per share, with a total value of $49,593.81. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 57,623 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $979,014.77. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Commonwealth Financial

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in First Commonwealth Financial in the second quarter valued at about $203,000. Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $142,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $231,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $253,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 53.8% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 75,340 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,040,000 after acquiring an additional 26,348 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.