First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.02 EPS

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The bank reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.02, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $139.42 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $137.48 million. First Commonwealth Financial had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 21.19%.

First Commonwealth Financial Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of NYSE:FCF traded up $0.48 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $21.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 865,168 shares, compared to its average volume of 808,776. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.14 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $19.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.61. First Commonwealth Financial has a fifty-two week low of $15.00 and a fifty-two week high of $21.41.

Key Headlines Impacting First Commonwealth Financial

Here are the key news stories impacting First Commonwealth Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 earnings beat expectations: GAAP net income rose to $44.6 million, or $0.44 per diluted share, from $37.5 million, or $0.37, in the prior quarter and $33.4 million, or $0.32, a year earlier. EPS exceeded the $0.42 consensus estimate, while revenue of $139.4 million also topped expectations of $137.5 million. First Commonwealth Financial quarterly earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Improving core performance: Fully taxable-equivalent net interest income increased to $112.8 million, and the net interest margin expanded to 4.01% from 3.92% in the previous quarter. The core efficiency ratio improved to 52.24%, supporting stronger operating leverage.
• Positive Sentiment: Shareholder returns increased: FCF authorized an additional $75 million share-repurchase program after buying back 645,695 shares during the quarter. It also declared a $0.14 quarterly dividend, up 3.7% year over year. First Commonwealth second-quarter earnings release
• Positive Sentiment: Asset quality and capital remain solid: Nonperforming loans declined to $81.6 million from $92.3 million, while total capital and common equity tier-one ratios remained well above regulatory requirements.
• Neutral Sentiment: Key risks: Net charge-offs increased to $11.4 million, or 0.49% of average loans, from $8.2 million in the prior quarter. Period-end deposits declined $149.8 million, lifting the loan-to-deposit ratio to 92.7%. Investors may also weigh extensive recent insider selling reported in the accompanying coverage.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Commonwealth Financial news, CFO James R. Reske sold 2,072 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 77,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,582,682. The trade was a 2.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Norman J. Montgomery sold 12,964 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.37, for a total value of $238,148.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 50,104 shares in the company, valued at approximately $920,410.48. This trade represents a 20.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 49,430 shares of company stock valued at $914,266 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Commonwealth Financial

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of FCF. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $907,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,516,155 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,422,000 after purchasing an additional 162,079 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 23.4% in the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 367,438 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,195,000 after purchasing an additional 69,728 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in First Commonwealth Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $15,685,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 27,714 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,077 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

About First Commonwealth Financial

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.