First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

First Commonwealth Financial Co. (NYSE:FCF) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $19.85 and last traded at $19.75, with a volume of 23766 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.21.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on FCF. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of First Commonwealth Financial from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of First Commonwealth Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded shares of First Commonwealth Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $16.00 to $19.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Commonwealth Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.30.

First Commonwealth Financial Price Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.90. The stock has a market cap of $2.01 billion, a PE ratio of 13.45 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $121.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $119.47 million. First Commonwealth Financial had a net margin of 21.87% and a return on equity of 11.19%. First Commonwealth Financial’s revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.39 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that First Commonwealth Financial Co. will post 1.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Commonwealth Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.64%. First Commonwealth Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Commonwealth Financial

In other news, EVP Michael P. Mccuen bought 2,919 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $16.99 per share, with a total value of $49,593.81. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,623 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $979,014.77. The trade was a 5.34 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 29.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,673,201 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $23,107,000 after buying an additional 384,892 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,987,929 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $96,503,000 after acquiring an additional 233,955 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 121.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 211,797 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,631,000 after purchasing an additional 116,295 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,782,837 shares of the bank’s stock worth $64,876,000 after purchasing an additional 105,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $834,000. Institutional investors 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.