First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE:FCF)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $20.78 and last traded at $20.63, with a volume of 88497 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.33.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.33.

First Commonwealth Financial Trading Up 2.5%

The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a market cap of $2.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.78 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $19.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.14.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The bank reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $133.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $134.32 million. First Commonwealth Financial had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 21.19%.The firm’s revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.32 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that First Commonwealth Financial Corporation will post 1.71 EPS for the current year.

First Commonwealth Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This is a positive change from First Commonwealth Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. First Commonwealth Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 37.09%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO James R. Reske sold 2,072 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.93, for a total transaction of $39,222.96. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 79,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,500,694.68. This represents a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Michael P. Mccuen sold 5,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.58, for a total transaction of $97,545.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 56,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,056,477.38. This represents a 8.45% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 49,430 shares of company stock valued at $908,796 in the last three months. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Commonwealth Financial

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 2,250.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,609 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 2,498 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co acquired a new position in First Commonwealth Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $51,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its position in 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. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new stake in First Commonwealth Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $85,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,378 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $108,000 after buying an additional 1,460 shares in the last quarter. 72.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.