First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

First Commonwealth Financial Co. (NYSE:FCF) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $19.17 and last traded at $19.12, with a volume of 816863 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $16.59.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FCF has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler cut their target price on First Commonwealth Financial from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com downgraded First Commonwealth Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on First Commonwealth Financial from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on First Commonwealth Financial from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded First Commonwealth Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target 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 issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.30.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $16.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a PE ratio of 12.67 and a beta of 0.83.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.05). The business 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.39 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that First Commonwealth Financial Co. will post 1.42 EPS for the current year.

First Commonwealth Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. First Commonwealth Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Michael P. Mccuen purchased 2,919 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $16.99 per share, for a total transaction of $49,593.81. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Commonwealth Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCF. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in 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 worth $23,107,000 after buying an additional 384,892 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,987,929 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $96,503,000 after purchasing an additional 233,955 shares during the last quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA lifted its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA now owns 960,725 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,373,000 after purchasing an additional 61,823 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $834,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $693,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.58% of the company’s stock.

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.