First Commonwealth Financial Co. (NYSE:FCF) Shares Acquired by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in First Commonwealth Financial Co. (NYSE:FCF) by 64.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,892 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,643 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in First Commonwealth Financial were worth $598,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 2.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,782,837 shares of the bank’s stock worth $64,876,000 after purchasing an additional 105,116 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP acquired a new position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $678,000. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 53.3% in the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 136,563 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,886,000 after purchasing an additional 47,466 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 7.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 538,964 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,243,000 after buying an additional 36,001 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in First Commonwealth Financial during the second quarter valued at $693,000. 72.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Performance

Shares of FCF opened at $18.28 on Friday. First Commonwealth Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $12.41 and a 52 week high of $19.96. 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 capitalization of $1.86 billion, a PE ratio of 12.35 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $17.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.38.

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

First Commonwealth Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. First Commonwealth Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded First Commonwealth Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on 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 upped 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned 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.

Insider Activity at First Commonwealth Financial

In other First Commonwealth Financial news, EVP Michael P. Mccuen bought 2,919 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $16.99 per share, for a total transaction of $49,593.81. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,623 shares in the company, valued at approximately $979,014.77. The trade was a 5.34 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.97% of the company’s stock.

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.