First Commonwealth Financial Co. (NYSE:FCF) Short Interest Up 10.6% in November

First Commonwealth Financial Co. (NYSE:FCF) was the target of a large increase in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,070,000 shares, an increase of 10.6% from the November 15th total of 967,200 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 514,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on FCF shares. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on First Commonwealth Financial from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on First Commonwealth Financial from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut First Commonwealth Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Commonwealth Financial

In related news, EVP Michael P. Mccuen bought 2,919 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $16.99 per share, for a total transaction of $49,593.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,623 shares in the company, valued at $979,014.77. The trade was a 5.34 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.97% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Commonwealth Financial

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 2.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,782,837 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $64,876,000 after buying an additional 105,116 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP purchased a new position in First Commonwealth Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $678,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 64.2% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 34,892 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $598,000 after acquiring an additional 13,643 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 53.3% in the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 136,563 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,886,000 after acquiring an additional 47,466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in First Commonwealth Financial by 7.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 538,964 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,243,000 after purchasing an additional 36,001 shares during the period. 72.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Commonwealth Financial Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE FCF opened at $18.37 on Tuesday. First Commonwealth Financial has a 1-year low of $12.41 and a 1-year high of $19.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The business’s 50 day moving average is $17.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.41 and a beta of 0.86.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.39 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that First Commonwealth Financial will post 1.4 EPS for the current year.

First Commonwealth Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. First Commonwealth Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.14%.

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.