First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday.

THFF has been the topic of a number of other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $55.00 price target (up from $52.00) on shares of First Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of First Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $58.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th.

First Financial Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of First Financial stock opened at $53.00 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $628.10 million, a P/E ratio of 13.25 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $48.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. First Financial has a one year low of $34.61 and a one year high of $53.60.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.26. First Financial had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 8.77%. The firm had revenue of $62.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.04 million. On average, analysts forecast that First Financial will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 1st. First Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.16%.

Insider Activity at First Financial

In other news, Director James O. Mcdonald bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $48.99 per share, for a total transaction of $48,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,462 shares in the company, valued at $463,543.38. This trade represents a 11.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders bought 1,708 shares of company stock valued at $83,350 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in First Financial by 304.4% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 380,492 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $18,636,000 after acquiring an additional 286,409 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Financial in the first quarter valued at about $6,780,000. Kennedy Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,855,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of First Financial by 231.4% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 86,972 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,017,000 after purchasing an additional 60,732 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of First Financial by 82.0% during the 1st quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 128,067 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,273,000 after purchasing an additional 57,690 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.