Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 21,159 Shares of First Commonwealth Financial Co. (NYSE:FCF)

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial Co. (NYSE:FCF) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,735,598 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,159 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 11.48% of First Commonwealth Financial worth $181,198,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCF. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 50.5% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,666 shares of the bank’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 2,236 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 128,096 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,978,000 after buying an additional 49,267 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,066,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 155.0% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,697,502 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,649,000 after acquiring an additional 1,639,667 shares during the period. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $743,000. 72.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com raised First Commonwealth Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 25th.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:FCF opened at $13.83 on Thursday. First Commonwealth Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $11.16 and a 52-week high of $15.90. The company has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a PE ratio of 8.59 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a fifty day moving average of $13.50 and a 200-day moving average of $13.75.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. First Commonwealth Financial had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 24.96%. The business had revenue of $116.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $119.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that First Commonwealth Financial Co. will post 1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Commonwealth Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were given a $0.13 dividend. This is a boost from First Commonwealth Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 2nd. First Commonwealth Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 32.30%.

About First Commonwealth Financial

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.