First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) CFO James Reske Sells 2,072 Shares

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF) CFO James Reske sold 2,072 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.74, for a total transaction of $34,685.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 80,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,344,406.14. The trade was a 2.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE FCF traded up $0.11 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $17.19. 274,344 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 537,498. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $16.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.71. The stock has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.43 and a beta of 0.79. First Commonwealth Financial Corporation has a 1 year low of $13.54 and a 1 year high of $18.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The bank reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.02). First Commonwealth Financial had a net margin of 20.00% and a return on equity of 10.12%. The business had revenue of $135.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $136.30 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.31 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that First Commonwealth Financial Corporation will post 1.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Commonwealth Financial announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, December 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $25.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to buy up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

First Commonwealth Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were issued a dividend of $0.135 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. First Commonwealth Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.13%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Commonwealth Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FCF. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 2,250.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,609 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 2,498 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 109.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,438 shares of the bank’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 2,321 shares in the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new stake in First Commonwealth Financial in the third quarter valued at $85,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 58.5% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,285 shares of the bank’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,724 shares of the bank’s stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 792 shares in the last quarter. 72.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on FCF. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $21.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research downgraded First Commonwealth Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, DA Davidson downgraded First Commonwealth Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.90.

First Commonwealth Financial Company Profile

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation, headquartered in Indiana, Pennsylvania, is a bank holding company whose primary subsidiary is First Commonwealth Bank. Established in 1889 as Indiana National Bank, the company has grown through a combination of organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to build a diversified platform of commercial banking, retail banking and wealth management services.

First Commonwealth offers a comprehensive suite of financial products, including deposit accounts, personal and business lending solutions, mortgage origination and servicing, treasury management, and trust and investment services.