Barclays PLC Has $1.64 Million Stock Holdings in First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF)

Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) by 62.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 37,457 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,349 shares during the period. Barclays PLC’s holdings in First Financial were worth $1,643,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of First Financial by 0.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 729,676 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,910,000 after purchasing an additional 4,662 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of First Financial by 15.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 302,323 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,150,000 after buying an additional 40,726 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of First Financial by 19.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 190,126 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,012,000 after buying an additional 30,986 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of First Financial by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 127,791 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,713,000 after acquiring an additional 7,828 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of First Financial by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 102,269 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,772,000 after acquiring an additional 2,046 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.74% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Price Performance

THFF opened at $46.58 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $550.02 million, a P/E ratio of 12.62 and a beta of 0.50. First Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $34.58 and a 12 month high of $51.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.55.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $82.92 million during 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%. On average, research analysts expect that First Financial Co. will post 3.92 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is an increase from First Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.38%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. First Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Raymond James upgraded shares of 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.

First Financial 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.