Short Interest in First Commonwealth Financial Co. (NYSE:FCF) Expands By 19.4%

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Commonwealth Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 213,437 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,611,000 after buying an additional 6,091 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 7.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 538,964 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,243,000 after acquiring an additional 36,001 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in First Commonwealth Financial by 15.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,435,002 shares of the bank’s stock worth $58,601,000 after acquiring an additional 456,119 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in First Commonwealth Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of First Commonwealth Financial by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 15,623 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 633 shares in the last quarter. 72.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Commonwealth Financial Stock Performance

Shares of FCF traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $16.54. 2,321,696 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 477,154. First Commonwealth Financial has a twelve month low of $12.41 and a twelve month high of $19.96. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.02. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.17 and a beta of 0.88.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $0.31 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $119.47 million. First Commonwealth Financial had a net margin of 21.87% and a return on equity of 11.19%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.39 EPS. Analysts predict that First Commonwealth Financial will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current year.

First Commonwealth Financial Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on FCF shares. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on First Commonwealth Financial from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of First Commonwealth Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of First Commonwealth Financial from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.70.

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.