First Commonwealth Financial Corporation $FCF Shares Purchased by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF) by 14.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 406,469 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 49,853 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in First Commonwealth Financial were worth $6,930,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 3.2% in the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 55,519 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $947,000 after buying an additional 1,738 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 4.5% in the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 328,194 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,596,000 after acquiring an additional 14,069 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 146.0% in the 3rd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 29,366 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $501,000 after acquiring an additional 17,427 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 58.5% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,285 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 31,052 shares of the bank’s stock worth $529,000 after purchasing an additional 1,338 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.58% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Michael P. Mccuen bought 3,090 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $16.19 per share, for a total transaction of $50,027.10. Following the purchase, the executive vice president owned 62,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,005,577.09. This represents a 5.24% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO James R. Reske sold 2,072 shares of First Commonwealth Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The stock was 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 $1,344,406.14. This trade represents a 2.52% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 22,635 shares of company stock valued at $417,719 over the last 90 days. 2.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $21.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on First Commonwealth Financial from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $20.00 target price on First Commonwealth Financial and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Commonwealth Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.75.

First Commonwealth Financial Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE FCF opened at $18.40 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.91 billion, a PE ratio of 12.60 and a beta of 0.81. First Commonwealth Financial Corporation has a one year low of $13.54 and a one year high of $19.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $17.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.00.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $137.82 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $135.63 million. First Commonwealth Financial had a return on equity of 10.43% and a net margin of 20.88%.The business’s revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.35 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that First Commonwealth Financial Corporation will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

First Commonwealth Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th will be issued a $0.135 dividend. This represents a $0.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. First Commonwealth Financial’s payout ratio is 36.99%.

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.