StockNews.com Lowers First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) to Sell

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Thursday.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Stephens lowered their price target on First Commonwealth Financial from $16.50 to $15.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a report on Tuesday, April 9th.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Performance

Shares of First Commonwealth Financial stock traded down $0.18 on Thursday, hitting $13.56. The stock had a trading volume of 781,717 shares, compared to its average volume of 519,733. First Commonwealth Financial has a 52-week low of $11.16 and a 52-week high of $15.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.42 and a beta of 0.87. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $13.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.60.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. First Commonwealth Financial had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 24.96%. The firm had revenue of $116.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $119.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that First Commonwealth Financial will post 1.44 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Commonwealth Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCF. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in First Commonwealth Financial in the third quarter valued at about $845,000. Waldron Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 10,699.1% in the third quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,204,858 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,711,000 after purchasing an additional 1,193,701 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 56,365 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $688,000 after acquiring an additional 3,208 shares during the period. Emerald Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 35,469 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $433,000 after acquiring an additional 2,878 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.58% 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.