StockNews.com Downgrades First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) to Sell

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on FCF. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on First Commonwealth Financial from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Janney Montgomery Scott cut First Commonwealth Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $16.00 to $19.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on First Commonwealth Financial from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on First Commonwealth Financial from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.50.

First Commonwealth Financial Price Performance

NYSE FCF traded down $0.35 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $16.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 438,762 shares, compared to its average volume of 515,714. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.09 and a beta of 0.83. First Commonwealth Financial has a 1-year low of $11.16 and a 1-year high of $19.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company’s 50-day moving average is $16.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.81.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $120.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $118.34 million. First Commonwealth Financial had a return on equity of 12.14% and a net margin of 23.39%. First Commonwealth Financial’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that First Commonwealth Financial will post 1.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at First Commonwealth Financial

In other news, EVP Michael P. Mccuen purchased 2,919 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $16.99 per share, for a total transaction of $49,593.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,623 shares in the company, valued at approximately $979,014.77. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.97% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Commonwealth Financial

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FCF. CWM LLC raised its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 451.1% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,995 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 1,633 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in First Commonwealth Financial in the second quarter valued at $34,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in First Commonwealth Financial in the second quarter valued at $51,000. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in First Commonwealth Financial in the second quarter valued at $142,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial during the first quarter worth about $152,000. 72.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.