First Commonwealth Financial Co. (NYSE:FCF) Short Interest Update

First Commonwealth Financial Co. (NYSE:FCF) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,230,000 shares, an increase of 19.4% from the December 15th total of 1,030,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 520,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Up 1.0 %

FCF stock traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $16.54. 2,321,696 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 477,154. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.17 and a beta of 0.88. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $17.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.02. First Commonwealth Financial has a 12-month low of $12.41 and a 12-month high of $19.96.

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

First Commonwealth Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. First Commonwealth Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on FCF shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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. StockNews.com upgraded First Commonwealth Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 1st. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, October 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.70.

Institutional Trading of First Commonwealth Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,782,837 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $64,876,000 after acquiring an additional 105,116 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 121.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 211,797 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,631,000 after purchasing an additional 116,295 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP bought a new stake in First Commonwealth Financial during the third quarter valued at $678,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 64.2% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 34,892 shares of the bank’s stock worth $598,000 after purchasing an additional 13,643 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 39.5% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 150,590 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,583,000 after buying an additional 42,632 shares during the last quarter. 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.