First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) Downgraded by StockNews.com to "Sell"

StockNews.com downgraded shares of First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Friday.

FCF has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $21.50 target price on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $21.00 price target on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $19.58.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Performance

FCF stock traded up $0.61 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $14.77. 594,956 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 585,561. First Commonwealth Financial has a 52 week low of $12.41 and a 52 week high of $19.96. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $15.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a PE ratio of 10.72 and a beta of 0.72.

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First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.35 earnings per share (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, equities analysts anticipate that First Commonwealth Financial will post 1.45 EPS for the current year.

First Commonwealth Financial Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. First Commonwealth Financial's dividend payout ratio is 37.41%.

Institutional Trading of First Commonwealth Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,956,654 shares of the bank's stock valued at $66,947,000 after purchasing an additional 173,817 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position 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 valued at $58,601,000 after buying an additional 456,119 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $33,717,000 after buying an additional 9,588 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings 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 worth $25,099,000 after buying an additional 179,250 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 19.9% in 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.58% of the company's stock.

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.