First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,960,000 shares, a growth of 5.2% from the November 30th total of 7,570,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 479,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 16.6 days. Currently, 5.8% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Activity at First Financial Bankshares

In other news, CEO F Scott Dueser sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.73, for a total value of $1,018,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 471,004 shares in the company, valued at $19,183,992.92. This represents a 5.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael B. Denny sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.12, for a total transaction of $287,840.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 101,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,156,615.20. The trade was a 6.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial Bankshares during the second quarter valued at about $83,000. Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in First Financial Bankshares by 32.2% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,369 shares of the bank’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 577 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in First Financial Bankshares during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $97,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in First Financial Bankshares in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $118,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 5.0% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,637 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $166,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. 69.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Financial Bankshares Stock Down 0.9 %

FFIN stock opened at $36.05 on Thursday. First Financial Bankshares has a 52 week low of $27.06 and a 52 week high of $44.66. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.39. The company has a market cap of $5.15 billion, a PE ratio of 24.86 and a beta of 0.81.

First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39. First Financial Bankshares had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 13.43%. The company had revenue of $142.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $140.25 million. On average, analysts anticipate that First Financial Bankshares will post 1.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. First Financial Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on FFIN shares. Hovde Group raised their price objective on First Financial Bankshares from $34.50 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of First Financial Bankshares from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of First Financial Bankshares from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of First Financial Bankshares from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

About First Financial Bankshares

First Financial Bankshares, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides commercial banking products and services in Texas. The company offers checking, savings and time deposits; automated teller machines, drive-in, and night deposit services; safe deposit facilities, remote deposit capture, internet banking, mobile banking, payroll cards, funds transfer, and performing other customary commercial banking services; securities brokerage services; and trust and wealth management services, including wealth management, estates administration, oil and gas management, testamentary trusts, revocable and irrevocable trusts, and agency accounts.