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

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $21.41 and last traded at $21.3470, with a volume of 811249 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $20.87.

The bank reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.02. First Commonwealth Financial had a net margin of 21.19% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The business had revenue of $139.42 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $137.48 million.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Commonwealth Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Commonwealth Financial news, CFO James R. Reske sold 2,072 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.50, for a total value of $42,476.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 77,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,582,682. This trade represents a 2.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Michael P. Mccuen sold 5,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.58, for a total transaction of $97,545.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 56,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,056,477.38. This trade represents a 8.45% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 49,430 shares of company stock valued at $914,266 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Commonwealth Financial

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in First Commonwealth Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $15,685,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 112.9% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,091,740 shares of the bank’s stock worth $18,614,000 after purchasing an additional 578,893 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 95.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 559,989 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,845,000 after purchasing an additional 273,351 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,854,021 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $81,839,000 after purchasing an additional 216,099 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 453.3% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 215,591 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,790,000 after purchasing an additional 176,626 shares during the period. 72.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $19.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.61. The company has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.14 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

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.