First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) to Issue Dividend Increase – $0.51 Per Share

First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, December 17th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a dividend of 0.51 per share by the bank on Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This is a boost from First Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45.

First Financial has increased its dividend payment by an average of 13.7% per year over the last three years. First Financial has a payout ratio of 39.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect First Financial to earn $5.18 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 39.4%.

First Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ THFF opened at $46.19 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $545.41 million, a P/E ratio of 12.52 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. First Financial has a fifty-two week low of $34.58 and a fifty-two week high of $51.87.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

About First Financial

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.