Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Sells 1,300 Shares of First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lessened its position in First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 8,928 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,300 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in First Financial were worth $391,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in THFF. Boston Partners bought a new stake in First Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $665,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in First Financial by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 125,553 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,811,000 after acquiring an additional 13,278 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in First Financial by 19.5% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 190,126 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,012,000 after acquiring an additional 30,986 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its position in First Financial by 57.1% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 47,665 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,090,000 after acquiring an additional 17,322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in First Financial by 81.2% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 73,144 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,698,000 after acquiring an additional 32,783 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of First Financial from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th.

First Financial Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:THFF opened at $49.13 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $44.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. First Financial Co. has a one year low of $34.58 and a one year high of $50.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $580.23 million, a PE ratio of 13.31 and a beta of 0.47.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.91 by ($0.17). First Financial had a return on equity of 8.10% and a net margin of 14.86%. The business had revenue of $82.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $57.95 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that First Financial Co. will post 3.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.66%. First Financial’s payout ratio is 48.78%.

About First Financial

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.