First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) Shares Break Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF)’s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $19.94 and traded as high as $20.02. First Commonwealth Financial shares last traded at $19.9480, with a volume of 847,320 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on FCF shares. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $24.00 price objective on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a report on Friday, July 31st. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $25.00 target price (up from $21.00) on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a report on Thursday, July 30th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on First Commonwealth Financial in a research note on Monday, September 28th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of First Commonwealth Financial from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.20.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a PE ratio of 12.48 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The bank reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $139.42 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $137.48 million. First Commonwealth Financial had a net margin of 22.62% and a return on equity of 10.79%. As a group, equities analysts predict that First Commonwealth Financial Corporation will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

First Commonwealth Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th were issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. First Commonwealth Financial’s payout ratio is 34.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Commonwealth Financial news, CFO James Reske sold 2,072 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.52, for a total transaction of $42,517.44. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 70,988 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,456,673.76. This represents a 2.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 6,216 shares of company stock valued at $131,821. 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. Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in First Commonwealth Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $1,751,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 95.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 559,989 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,845,000 after acquiring an additional 273,351 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 453.3% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 215,591 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,790,000 after acquiring an additional 176,626 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $22,028,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 42.8% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 174,997 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,076,000 after acquiring an additional 52,410 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 (NYSE: FCF) is a bank holding company headquartered in Indiana, Pennsylvania. Through its principal subsidiary, First Commonwealth Bank, the company provides community banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, and institutions.

Its offerings include checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, residential and commercial mortgages, consumer loans, commercial lending, and other credit products. First Commonwealth also provides wealth management, trust, investment, and insurance services through affiliated and specialized business lines.

The company serves customers through banking locations and digital channels in western and central Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio.