Geode Capital Management LLC Has $12 Million Stock Position in First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) by 1.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 273,544 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,743 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in First Financial were worth $11,997,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of First Financial by 62.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 37,457 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,643,000 after acquiring an additional 14,349 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in First Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $279,000. Dean Investment Associates LLC bought a new position in First Financial in the third quarter valued at about $2,856,000. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in First Financial by 18.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 13,704 shares of the bank’s stock worth $601,000 after acquiring an additional 2,154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC acquired a new position in shares of First Financial during the third quarter worth $230,000. 72.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Raymond James raised shares of First Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $54.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th.

First Financial Price Performance

Shares of THFF opened at $46.19 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $545.41 million, a PE ratio of 12.52 and a beta of 0.50. First Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $34.58 and a 52-week high of $51.87. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $47.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.81.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $82.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $57.95 million. First Financial had a net margin of 14.86% and a return on equity of 8.10%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that First Financial Co. will post 3.92 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.42%. This is a positive change from First Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. First Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.28%.

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.