First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

First Commonwealth Financial Co. (NYSE:FCF)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $16.82, but opened at $16.32. First Commonwealth Financial shares last traded at $16.45, with a volume of 74,552 shares traded.

The bank reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.01). First Commonwealth Financial had a return on equity of 11.19% and a net margin of 21.87%.

First Commonwealth Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. First Commonwealth Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FCF has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on First Commonwealth Financial from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on First Commonwealth Financial from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com cut First Commonwealth Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $21.00 price target on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Commonwealth Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.58.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Commonwealth Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 2.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,782,837 shares of the bank’s stock worth $64,876,000 after buying an additional 105,116 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 121.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 211,797 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,631,000 after acquiring an additional 116,295 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP acquired a new stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $678,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 64.2% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 34,892 shares of the bank’s stock worth $598,000 after purchasing an additional 13,643 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 7.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 538,964 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,243,000 after purchasing an additional 36,001 shares during the last quarter. 72.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Commonwealth Financial Trading Up 3.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The business’s 50-day moving average is $17.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.15. The firm has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.25 and a beta of 0.88.

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.