First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) Given New $45.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) had its target price raised by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $43.00 to $45.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a market perform rating on the bank’s stock.

First Financial Price Performance

Shares of First Financial stock opened at $46.30 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. First Financial has a fifty-two week low of $31.74 and a fifty-two week high of $47.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $38.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.99. The company has a market cap of $546.80 million, a PE ratio of 9.87 and a beta of 0.48.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96. The firm had revenue of $70.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $51.95 million. First Financial had a net margin of 18.22% and a return on equity of 10.07%. Analysts expect that First Financial will post 4.49 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 1st were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 1st. First Financial’s payout ratio is 38.38%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of First Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $64,000. Country Trust Bank bought a new position in shares of First Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $111,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in First Financial by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,731 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank lifted its holdings in First Financial by 6,849.2% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 4,517 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $173,000 after purchasing an additional 4,452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new position in First Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $175,000. 72.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.