First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) Lowered to “Sell” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Wednesday.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on FCF. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $21.00 price target on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of First Commonwealth Financial from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $21.50 price target on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of First Commonwealth Financial from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Commonwealth Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.92.

First Commonwealth Financial Price Performance

Shares of FCF opened at $15.63 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.24 and a beta of 0.77. First Commonwealth Financial has a twelve month low of $12.71 and a twelve month high of $19.96.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The bank reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32. The company had revenue of $118.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.70 million. First Commonwealth Financial had a return on equity of 10.36% and a net margin of 20.38%. First Commonwealth Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.37 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that First Commonwealth Financial will post 1.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Commonwealth Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.135 per share. This is an increase from First Commonwealth Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. First Commonwealth Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.30%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Commonwealth Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. US Bancorp DE increased its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 2,911.4% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,379 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 2,300 shares during the period. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 815.8% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,187 shares of the bank’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 2,839 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 173.4% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,396 shares of the bank’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 2,154 shares during the period. 72.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.