Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 36,001 Shares of First Commonwealth Financial Co. (NYSE:FCF)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in First Commonwealth Financial Co. (NYSE:FCF) by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 538,964 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,001 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.53% of First Commonwealth Financial worth $9,243,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 451.1% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,995 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,633 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 2,572.6% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,657 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,595 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in First Commonwealth Financial in the second quarter worth $51,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in First Commonwealth Financial in the third quarter valued at $72,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.58% of the company’s stock.

First Commonwealth Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FCF opened at $18.62 on Tuesday. First Commonwealth Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $12.41 and a 1-year high of $19.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market cap of $1.90 billion, a PE ratio of 12.58 and a beta of 0.83. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.76.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $121.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $119.47 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that First Commonwealth Financial Co. will post 1.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Commonwealth Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. First Commonwealth Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Michael P. Mccuen acquired 2,919 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $16.99 per share, with a total value of $49,593.81. Following the completion of 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on FCF shares. Janney Montgomery Scott cut First Commonwealth Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $16.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of First Commonwealth Financial from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of First Commonwealth Financial from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Piper Sandler reduced 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, StockNews.com downgraded shares of First Commonwealth Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Commonwealth Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.30.

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.