First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) Shares Pass Above 200-Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF)’s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $17.42 and traded as high as $18.50. First Commonwealth Financial shares last traded at $18.3250, with a volume of 968,182 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FCF. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on First Commonwealth Financial from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Commonwealth Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.33.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $1.90 billion, a PE ratio of 12.38 and a beta of 0.75.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The bank reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.03). First Commonwealth Financial had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 21.19%.The firm had revenue of $133.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $134.32 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that First Commonwealth Financial Corporation will post 1.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Commonwealth Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be given a $0.14 dividend. This is an increase from First Commonwealth Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. First Commonwealth Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Commonwealth Financial

In other news, CFO James R. Reske sold 2,072 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.52, for a total value of $38,373.44. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 81,348 shares in the company, valued at $1,506,564.96. This represents a 2.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Norman J. Montgomery sold 12,964 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 50,104 shares in the company, valued at $920,410.48. This 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 44,180 shares of company stock worth $808,454 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Commonwealth Financial

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 20,253 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $341,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 20.7% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,621 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 4.7% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 17,801 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 94,031 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,585,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 0.4% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 300,680 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,880,000 after purchasing an additional 1,068 shares during the last quarter. 72.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.