First Financial’s (THFF) “Market Perform” Rating Reiterated at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued their market perform rating on shares of First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) in a research report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $55.00 price target on the bank’s stock, up from their previous price target of $52.00.

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

First Financial Stock Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ:THFF opened at $52.31 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $617.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.18 and a beta of 0.50. First Financial has a twelve month low of $34.58 and a twelve month high of $52.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.37.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The bank reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.08. First Financial had a net margin of 14.86% and a return on equity of 8.10%. Analysts anticipate that First Financial will post 3.92 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.90%. This is a boost from First Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. First Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.28%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Financial

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of First Financial by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 230,332 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,100,000 after acquiring an additional 22,287 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in First Financial by 62.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 37,457 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,643,000 after purchasing an additional 14,349 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its holdings in First Financial by 57.1% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 47,665 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,090,000 after purchasing an additional 17,322 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of First Financial by 81.2% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 73,144 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,698,000 after buying an additional 32,783 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dean Investment Associates LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,856,000. Institutional investors own 72.74% of the company’s stock.

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.