First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) Announces $0.51 Quarterly Dividend

First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, March 21st, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of 0.51 per share by the bank on Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st.

First Financial has increased its dividend by an average of 20.6% per year over the last three years. First Financial has a payout ratio of 35.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect First Financial to earn $5.94 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.04 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 34.3%.

First Financial Stock Down 1.4 %

NASDAQ THFF opened at $49.35 on Friday. First Financial has a fifty-two week low of $34.58 and a fifty-two week high of $53.60. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $49.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $584.95 million, a PE ratio of 12.34 and a beta of 0.49.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The bank reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.08. First Financial had a return on equity of 8.77% and a net margin of 15.37%. Equities analysts expect that First Financial will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James O. Mcdonald bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $48.99 per share, for a total transaction of $48,990.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 9,462 shares in the company, valued at $463,543.38. This represents a 11.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Mark Allen Franklin purchased 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $52.53 per share, for a total transaction of $57,783.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $517,157.85. The trade was a 12.58 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have bought 2,195 shares of company stock worth $111,625. Corporate insiders own 3.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on THFF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $55.00 price objective (up previously from $52.00) on shares of First Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James upgraded First Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $54.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of First Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $58.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th.

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.