First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) Upgraded to Outperform at Raymond James

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) was upgraded by analysts at Raymond James from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $54.00 target price on the bank’s stock. Raymond James’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 15.85% from the stock’s current price.

First Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ THFF opened at $46.61 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $550.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.17. First Financial has a 52-week low of $34.58 and a 52-week high of $51.87.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.91 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $82.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $57.95 million. First Financial had a return on equity of 8.10% and a net margin of 14.86%. Analysts anticipate that First Financial will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of THFF. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in First Financial by 62.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 37,457 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,643,000 after acquiring an additional 14,349 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Financial by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 273,544 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,997,000 after purchasing an additional 4,743 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of First Financial in the third quarter worth $279,000. Dean Investment Associates LLC acquired a new position in First Financial during the third quarter worth $2,856,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in First Financial by 18.6% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 13,704 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $601,000 after purchasing an additional 2,154 shares in the last quarter. 72.74% of the stock is currently 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.