Sterling Capital Management LLC Acquires 2,839 Shares of First Commonwealth Financial Co. (NYSE:FCF)

Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial Co. (NYSE:FCF) by 815.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,187 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,839 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in First Commonwealth Financial were worth $54,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,435,002 shares of the bank’s stock worth $58,601,000 after purchasing an additional 456,119 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 46.6% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 927,453 shares of the bank’s stock worth $15,693,000 after buying an additional 295,011 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,536,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,956,654 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $66,947,000 after acquiring an additional 173,817 shares during the period. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in First Commonwealth Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,456,000. 72.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 price objective on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of First Commonwealth Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $21.50 price objective on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Commonwealth Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.58.

First Commonwealth Financial Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE:FCF opened at $15.03 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $15.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.68. The stock has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.81 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. First Commonwealth Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $12.71 and a 12 month high of $19.96.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.01). First Commonwealth Financial had a net margin of 20.38% and a return on equity of 10.36%. Equities analysts predict that First Commonwealth Financial Co. will post 1.45 EPS for the current year.

First Commonwealth Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. First Commonwealth Financial’s payout ratio is 37.41%.

First Commonwealth Financial 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.