First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The bank reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.08, Zacks reports. First Financial had a return on equity of 8.10% and a net margin of 14.86%.

First Financial Stock Performance

Shares of THFF stock traded up $1.65 on Tuesday, hitting $49.69. The company had a trading volume of 11,488 shares, compared to its average volume of 45,877. The firm has a market cap of $586.78 million, a P/E ratio of 13.46 and a beta of 0.50. First Financial has a twelve month low of $34.58 and a twelve month high of $51.87. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $47.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

First Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.11%. This is a positive change from First Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. First Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Raymond James upgraded First Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $54.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th.

First Financial Company Profile

First Financial Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides various financial services. The company offers non-interest-bearing demand, interest-bearing demand, savings, time, and other time deposits. It also provides commercial loans primarily to expand a business or finance asset purchases; residential real estate and residential real estate construction loans; and home equity loans and lines, secured loans, and cash/CD secured and unsecured loans.