First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) Upgraded at Janney Montgomery Scott

Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Monday, MarketBeat reports. Janney Montgomery Scott currently has $58.00 price target on the bank’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $55.00 price target (up previously from $52.00) on shares of First Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 6th.

First Financial Stock Down 0.7 %

THFF stock opened at $50.97 on Monday. 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 $53.60. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.27. The company has a market cap of $601.85 million, a P/E ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 0.51.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The bank reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.08. First Financial had a return on equity of 8.77% and a net margin of 15.37%. On average, research analysts expect that First Financial will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This is a boost from First Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.00%. First Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.00%.

Insider Transactions at First Financial

In other First Financial news, insider Mark Allen Franklin bought 1,100 shares of First Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $52.53 per share, with a total value of $57,783.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 9,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $517,157.85. The trade was a 12.58 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders bought a total of 1,196 shares of company stock worth $62,696 in the last quarter. 3.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Creative Planning grew its position in shares of First Financial by 57.1% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 47,665 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,090,000 after acquiring an additional 17,322 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in First Financial by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 45,854 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,990,000 after acquiring an additional 2,278 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in First Financial by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 8,704 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $382,000 after acquiring an additional 1,661 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC boosted its position in First Financial by 2.1% during the third quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 45,235 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,984,000 after purchasing an additional 910 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of First Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $279,000. 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.