Blue Trust Inc. Decreases Stake in First Commonwealth Financial Co. (NYSE:FCF)

Blue Trust Inc. lessened its stake in First Commonwealth Financial Co. (NYSE:FCF) by 20.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,449 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 628 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in First Commonwealth Financial were worth $42,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

First Commonwealth Financial Price Performance

FCF stock opened at $16.73 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $17.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.17. First Commonwealth Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $12.41 and a 52-week high of $19.96. The company has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion, a PE ratio of 12.03 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.01). First Commonwealth Financial had a return on equity of 10.36% and a net margin of 20.38%. Analysts predict that First Commonwealth Financial Co. will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Commonwealth Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. First Commonwealth Financial’s payout ratio is 37.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $21.50 target price on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on First Commonwealth Financial from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com cut First Commonwealth Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 price objective on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.58.

First Commonwealth Financial 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.