Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) Stock

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) had its price objective upped by stock analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $18.00 to $20.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “market perform” rating on the bank’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 7.01% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on First Commonwealth Financial from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Commonwealth Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Commonwealth Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.70.

First Commonwealth Financial Price Performance

Shares of FCF traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $18.69. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 63,445 shares, compared to its average volume of 514,284. First Commonwealth Financial has a fifty-two week low of $12.41 and a fifty-two week high of $19.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $17.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.05). First Commonwealth Financial had a net margin of 21.87% and a return on equity of 11.19%. The company had revenue of $121.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $119.47 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.39 EPS. First Commonwealth Financial’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that First Commonwealth Financial will post 1.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at First Commonwealth Financial

In other news, EVP Michael P. Mccuen bought 2,919 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $16.99 per share, with a total value of $49,593.81. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,623 shares in the company, valued at approximately $979,014.77. This trade represents a 5.34 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Commonwealth Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 2.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,782,837 shares of the bank’s stock worth $64,876,000 after acquiring an additional 105,116 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP acquired a new position in First Commonwealth Financial during the third quarter worth $678,000. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 53.3% during the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 136,563 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,886,000 after buying an additional 47,466 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 7.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 538,964 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,243,000 after buying an additional 36,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $693,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.