First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) Coverage Initiated at Piper Sandler

Equities researchers at Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) in a report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set an “overweight” rating and a $21.00 price target on the bank’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 19.62% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on FCF. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. DA Davidson lowered shares of First Commonwealth Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of First Commonwealth Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Commonwealth Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.90.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Performance

Shares of First Commonwealth Financial stock opened at $17.56 on Wednesday. First Commonwealth Financial has a 12 month low of $13.54 and a 12 month high of $18.28. 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 market cap of $1.82 billion, a PE ratio of 12.72 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.57.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The bank reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.02). First Commonwealth Financial had a net margin of 20.00% and a return on equity of 10.12%. The business had revenue of $135.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $136.30 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.31 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Commonwealth Financial will post 1.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Commonwealth Financial declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, December 1st that allows the company to buyback $25.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to buy up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Commonwealth Financial

In other First Commonwealth Financial news, EVP Michael P. Mccuen purchased 3,090 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were bought at an average price of $16.19 per share, for a total transaction of $50,027.10. Following the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 62,111 shares in the company, valued at $1,005,577.09. This trade represents a 5.24% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO James R. Reske sold 2,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.99, for a total transaction of $37,208.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 85,866 shares in the company, valued at $1,458,863.34. This represents a 2.49% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,673 shares of company stock worth $93,275. 2.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Commonwealth Financial

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in First Commonwealth Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $5,077,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 1.0% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 274,805 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,270,000 after acquiring an additional 2,811 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 106.2% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 204,795 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,183,000 after purchasing an additional 105,478 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial in the first quarter worth about $230,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 239.8% during the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 15,555 shares of the bank’s stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 10,977 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.58% of the company’s stock.

First Commonwealth Financial Company Profile

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation, a financial holding company, provides various consumer and commercial banking services in the United States. Its consumer services include personal checking accounts, interest-earning checking accounts, savings and health savings accounts, insured money market accounts, debit cards, investment certificates, fixed and variable rate certificates of deposit, mortgage loans, secured and unsecured installment loans, construction and real estate loans, safe deposit facilities, credit cards, credit lines with overdraft checking protection, IRA accounts, and automated teller machine (atm) services, as well as internet, mobile, and telephone banking services.