First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

First Commonwealth Financial Co. (NYSE:FCF - Get Free Report) shares gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $16.82, but opened at $16.32. First Commonwealth Financial shares last traded at $16.45, with a volume of 74,552 shares traded.

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 11.19% and a net margin of 21.87%.

First Commonwealth Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. First Commonwealth Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on FCF. StockNews.com lowered First Commonwealth Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $21.50 target price on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of First Commonwealth Financial from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $19.58.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,782,837 shares of the bank's stock valued at $64,876,000 after buying an additional 105,116 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 15.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,435,002 shares of the bank's stock worth $58,601,000 after purchasing an additional 456,119 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 538,964 shares of the bank's stock worth $9,243,000 after purchasing an additional 36,001 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 213,437 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,611,000 after purchasing an additional 6,091 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 121.8% during the 3rd 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. Institutional investors own 72.58% of the company's stock.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.25 and a beta of 0.88. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $17.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.15.

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.