Short Interest in First Commonwealth Financial Co. (NYSE:FCF) Drops By 30.6%

First Commonwealth Financial Co. (NYSE:FCF - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,000,000 shares, a decline of 30.6% from the January 15th total of 1,440,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 603,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Commonwealth Financial

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,956,654 shares of the bank's stock worth $66,947,000 after purchasing an additional 173,817 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,435,002 shares of the bank's stock valued at $58,601,000 after buying an additional 456,119 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,992,712 shares of the bank's stock worth $33,717,000 after acquiring an additional 9,588 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,483,405 shares of the bank's stock valued at $25,099,000 after acquiring an additional 179,250 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,268,410 shares of the bank's stock valued at $21,461,000 after acquiring an additional 210,876 shares during the last quarter. 72.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Commonwealth Financial Price Performance

NYSE FCF traded up $0.07 on Tuesday, reaching $16.58. 67,551 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 634,559. The stock has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a PE ratio of 11.93 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.92. First Commonwealth Financial has a 12 month low of $12.41 and a 12 month high of $19.96. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.11.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.35 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that First Commonwealth Financial will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current year.

First Commonwealth Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. First Commonwealth Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on FCF shares. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $21.50 price objective on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com raised First Commonwealth Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of 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 target on shares of First Commonwealth Financial from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $20.00 price target on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $19.58.

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.