Russell Investments Group Ltd. Boosts Stake in First Commonwealth Financial Co. (NYSE:FCF)

Posted by MarketBeat News on May 21st, 2023

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in First Commonwealth Financial Co. (NYSE:FCF – Get Rating) by 79.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 159,224 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 70,417 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in First Commonwealth Financial were worth $2,224,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 59.3% in the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 8,689 shares of the bank’s stock worth $132,000 after buying an additional 3,233 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 237.0% in the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 9,955 shares of the bank’s stock worth $128,000 after buying an additional 7,001 shares during the last quarter. Schneider Downs Wealth Management Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial in the fourth quarter worth $140,000. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial in the second quarter worth $136,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial in the second quarter worth $144,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on FCF shares. Raymond James cut shares of First Commonwealth Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 21st. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a report on Thursday. They set a “sell” rating for the company. Finally, Stephens raised shares of First Commonwealth Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $14.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.60.

Insider Activity

Want More Great Investing Ideas?

In related news, Director Ray T. Charley bought 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $13.26 per share, for a total transaction of $53,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 313,174 shares in the company, valued at $4,152,687.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Ray T. Charley bought 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $13.26 per share, for a total transaction of $53,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 313,174 shares in the company, valued at $4,152,687.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ray T. Charley bought 3,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $12.85 per share, for a total transaction of $50,115.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 325,074 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,177,200.90. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.85% of the company’s stock.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Up 0.2 %

FCF stock opened at $12.74 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a PE ratio of 9.30 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $12.23 and its 200 day moving average is $13.80. First Commonwealth Financial Co. has a one year low of $11.32 and a one year high of $16.53.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 25th. The bank reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $117.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $123.86 million. First Commonwealth Financial had a net margin of 27.75% and a return on equity of 13.53%. The firm’s revenue was up 27.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.29 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that First Commonwealth Financial Co. will post 1.69 EPS for the current year.

First Commonwealth Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 19th. Investors of record on Friday, May 5th were given a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 4th. This is a positive change from First Commonwealth Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. First Commonwealth Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.50%.

First Commonwealth Financial Profile

(Get Rating)

First Commonwealth Financial Corp. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of consumer and commercial banking services. The firm is also involved in providing trust and wealth management services and offers insurance products. The company was founded on November 15, 1982 and is headquartered in Indiana, PA.