First Commonwealth Financial Corporation $FCF Shares Sold by Royce & Associates LP

Royce & Associates LP lessened its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF) by 29.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 67,672 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 28,439 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in First Commonwealth Financial were worth $1,141,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of FCF. Smithfield Trust Co acquired a new stake in First Commonwealth Financial during the 4th quarter worth $51,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 65,945 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,112,000 after acquiring an additional 1,237 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $572,000. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 20,253 shares of the bank’s stock worth $341,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 20.7% during the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,621 shares of the bank’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at First Commonwealth Financial

In other First Commonwealth Financial news, EVP Norman J. Montgomery sold 12,964 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.37, for a total transaction of $238,148.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 50,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $920,410.48. This represents a 20.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO James R. Reske sold 2,072 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,506,564.96. The trade was a 2.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 44,180 shares of company stock valued at $808,454. 1.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Up 0.0%

FCF stock opened at $18.95 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.55 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $18.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.92. First Commonwealth Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $15.00 and a 12 month high of $19.14.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $133.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $134.32 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that First Commonwealth Financial Corporation will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current year.

First Commonwealth Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were given a $0.14 dividend. This is a boost from First Commonwealth Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. First Commonwealth Financial’s payout ratio is presently 37.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued 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 assigned a Hold rating to the 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.

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.