First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) Price Target Raised to $20.00 at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) had its price objective raised by research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $19.00 to $20.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “market perform” rating on the bank’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 12.17% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Raymond James Financial set a $20.00 price objective on shares of First Commonwealth Financial and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. DA Davidson cut First Commonwealth Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on First Commonwealth Financial in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $21.00 price objective for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.00.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Performance

FCF stock traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $17.83. The company had a trading volume of 182,015 shares, compared to its average volume of 575,443. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $17.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a PE ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.79. First Commonwealth Financial has a fifty-two week low of $13.54 and a fifty-two week high of $18.42.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $137.82 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $135.63 million. First Commonwealth Financial had a return on equity of 10.52% and a net margin of 20.88%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.35 EPS. Analysts anticipate that First Commonwealth Financial will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current year.

First Commonwealth Financial announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Monday, December 1st that permits the company to repurchase $25.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to reacquire up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO James R. Reske sold 2,072 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.74, for a total transaction of $34,685.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 80,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,344,406.14. This trade represents a 2.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Michael P. Mccuen bought 3,090 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $16.19 per share, for a total transaction of $50,027.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 62,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,005,577.09. This represents a 5.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 5,555 shares of company stock valued at $90,752 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial in the second quarter worth approximately $411,000. Vest Financial LLC lifted its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 24.9% in the 2nd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 118,422 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,922,000 after buying an additional 23,622 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 67.6% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,597,925 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $58,394,000 after buying an additional 1,451,544 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 1.2% in the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 218,420 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,567,000 after acquiring an additional 2,598 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 2.3% during the second quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 123,795 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,009,000 after acquiring an additional 2,830 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.58% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting First Commonwealth Financial

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations — FCF reported $0.43 EPS and revenue above consensus; quarterly and full?year metrics showed stronger net income, loan growth and improved ROAA/ROAE, supporting the upside in the stock. GlobeNewswire Earnings Release
• Positive Sentiment: Margin guidance and buybacks — management signaled a ~4% net interest margin target for 2026 and the board authorized an incremental $25M repurchase program (on top of Q4 repurchases), which supports EPS upside and capital return to shareholders. MSN: NIM target & buybacks
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend increase and active repurchases — company raised the quarterly dividend to $0.135 (projected ~3.1% yield at recent prices) and repurchased ~1.45M shares in Q4, signaling shareholder-friendly capital management. GlobeNewswire Dividend & Repurchase
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst / presentation details — management hosted the earnings call and published slides/transcript (useful for modeling margin cadence, loan mix and provision outlook). Earnings Call Transcript Slide Deck
• Negative Sentiment: Rising short interest — short positions increased ~24% in January (now ~1.8% of float), which could add downside pressure or volatility if sentiment shifts. (Source: market data summarized in filings)
• Negative Sentiment: Asset quality & noninterest income headwinds — nonperforming loans ticked up modestly and noninterest income was down year?over?year (card interchange declines), while noninterest expense rose, pressuring the core efficiency ratio. Presentation: Asset quality & expenses

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.