First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) to Buyback $25.00 million in Outstanding Shares

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF - Get Free Report) declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, December 1st, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase $25.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to purchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

First Commonwealth Financial Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE FCF traded up $0.15 on Monday, hitting $16.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 444,428 shares, compared to its average volume of 669,782. The firm has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.88 and a beta of 0.86. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $16.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.47. First Commonwealth Financial has a 52-week low of $13.54 and a 52-week high of $19.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The bank reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $135.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $136.30 million. First Commonwealth Financial had a return on equity of 10.12% and a net margin of 20.00%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.31 EPS. Research analysts predict that First Commonwealth Financial will post 1.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Commonwealth Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.135 per share. This represents a $0.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. First Commonwealth Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on FCF shares. DA Davidson downgraded First Commonwealth Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of First Commonwealth Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of First Commonwealth Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Commonwealth Financial has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $19.63.

View Our Latest Report on First Commonwealth Financial

Insider Activity

In other First Commonwealth Financial news, CFO James R. Reske sold 2,190 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.99, for a total transaction of $37,208.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 85,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,458,863.34. This trade represents a 2.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Michael P. Mccuen purchased 3,090 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $16.19 per share, with a total value of $50,027.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 62,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,005,577.09. This trade represents a 5.24% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have purchased 6,916 shares of company stock worth $115,233 and have sold 5,898 shares worth $99,664. Corporate insiders own 2.17% of the company's stock.

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.

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