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 First Commonwealth Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.74, for a total value of $34,685.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 80,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,344,406.14. The trade was a 2.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

First Commonwealth Financial Price Performance

NYSE:FCF traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $17.19. 274,344 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 537,498. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $16.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.71. First Commonwealth Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $13.54 and a 52-week high of $18.28. The company has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.43 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The bank reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $135.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $136.30 million. First Commonwealth Financial had a return on equity of 10.12% and a net margin of 20.00%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that First Commonwealth Financial Corporation will post 1.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Commonwealth Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were issued a $0.135 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 is presently 39.13%.

First Commonwealth Financial announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, December 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $25.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to reacquire up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of First Commonwealth Financial

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 2,250.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,609 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 2,498 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 109.6% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,438 shares of the bank’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 2,321 shares during the period. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new stake in First Commonwealth Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $85,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 58.5% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,285 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 1,950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 10.0% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,724 shares of the bank’s stock worth $142,000 after acquiring an additional 792 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. DA Davidson lowered shares of First Commonwealth Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $21.00 price target for the company. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of First Commonwealth Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.