Phocas Financial Corp. Takes Position in First Financial Bankshares, Inc. $FFIN

Phocas Financial Corp. acquired a new position in First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 117,686 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $3,515,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in FFIN. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in First Financial Bankshares during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Corsicana & Co. acquired a new position in shares of First Financial Bankshares during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Bankshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 66.3% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,026 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial Bankshares in the third quarter worth $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on FFIN shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of First Financial Bankshares from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of First Financial Bankshares in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.33.

First Financial Bankshares Price Performance

FFIN opened at $31.14 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $31.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.50. First Financial Bankshares, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $28.11 and a fifty-two week high of $38.74. The company has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.59 and a beta of 0.82.

First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.03. First Financial Bankshares had a net margin of 30.43% and a return on equity of 14.16%. The business had revenue of $164.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $165.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that First Financial Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bankshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. First Financial Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Geoff Haney bought 10,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $33.18 per share, for a total transaction of $338,436.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 32,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,066,604.28. This represents a 46.48% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Johnny Trotter purchased 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $30.02 per share, for a total transaction of $120,080.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 955,444 shares in the company, valued at $28,682,428.88. This represents a 0.42% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders acquired a total of 21,629 shares of company stock worth $681,060 in the last 90 days. 3.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

First Financial Bankshares Profile

First Financial Bankshares, Inc is a regional bank holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Through its primary subsidiary, First Financial Bank, the company offers a full suite of banking products and services to individual, small business and commercial clients. With roots dating back to 1863, First Financial has cultivated a strong community banking heritage, combining personalized service with modern financial solutions.

The company’s core business activities include commercial and consumer lending, deposit products, treasury management, mortgage origination and servicing, and wealth management.