Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Reiterates Market Perform Rating for First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF)

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated their market perform rating on shares of First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) in a report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $43.00 price target on the bank’s stock, down from their prior price target of $45.00.

First Financial Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of First Financial stock opened at $36.42 on Wednesday. First Financial has a 12-month low of $31.00 and a 12-month high of $44.91. The stock has a market cap of $430.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.77 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.16.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The bank reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.13 by ($0.07). First Financial had a net margin of 20.16% and a return on equity of 11.16%. The company had revenue of $50.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $51.10 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that First Financial will post 4.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 1st were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.94%. First Financial’s payout ratio is currently 38.38%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of First Financial by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,731 shares of the bank’s stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial in the third quarter valued at about $151,000. Raymond James & Associates purchased a new stake in First Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $209,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $233,000. 72.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.