First Commonwealth Financial Co. (NYSE:FCF) Short Interest Up 30.6% in February

First Commonwealth Financial Co. (NYSE:FCF) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,410,000 shares, an increase of 30.6% from the February 13th total of 1,080,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 612,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

First Commonwealth Financial Trading Up 0.0 %

First Commonwealth Financial stock opened at $15.93 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.62 billion, a PE ratio of 11.46 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $16.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.04. First Commonwealth Financial has a 52 week low of $12.41 and a 52 week high of $19.96. 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 (NYSE:FCF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.01). First Commonwealth Financial had a return on equity of 10.36% and a net margin of 20.38%. Equities research analysts predict that First Commonwealth Financial will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Commonwealth Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. First Commonwealth Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.41%.

Institutional Trading of First Commonwealth Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCF. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 538,964 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,243,000 after buying an additional 36,001 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in First Commonwealth Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $277,000. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in First Commonwealth Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $246,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in First Commonwealth Financial by 35.9% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 28,288 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $485,000 after buying an additional 7,469 shares during the period. Finally, Royce & Associates LP purchased a new stake in First Commonwealth Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $678,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on FCF. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $21.50 target price on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $21.00 target price on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com raised First Commonwealth Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.58.

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.