First Commonwealth Financial Co. (NYSE:FCF) Short Interest Update

First Commonwealth Financial Co. (NYSE:FCF - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,410,000 shares, a growth of 30.6% from the February 13th total of 1,080,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 612,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days. Approximately 1.4% of the company's stock are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 4.6% during the 4th 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 period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 15.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,435,002 shares of the bank's stock worth $58,601,000 after buying an additional 456,119 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,992,712 shares of the bank's stock worth $33,717,000 after buying an additional 9,588 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,483,405 shares of the bank's stock worth $25,099,000 after buying an additional 179,250 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 19.9% during the 4th 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.58% of the company's stock.

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First Commonwealth Financial Stock Performance

Shares of FCF stock traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $15.58. The stock had a trading volume of 5,420,365 shares, compared to its average volume of 534,775. First Commonwealth Financial has a fifty-two week low of $12.41 and a fifty-two week high of $19.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $16.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.03. The firm has a market cap of $1.59 billion, a PE ratio of 11.21 and a beta of 0.84.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.01). First Commonwealth Financial had a net margin of 20.38% and a return on equity of 10.36%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that First Commonwealth Financial will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current year.

First Commonwealth Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. First Commonwealth Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FCF has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Commonwealth Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. 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, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $21.50 price target on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $21.00 price target on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $19.58.

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.