Bailard Inc. Has $614,000 Stake in First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF)

Bailard Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) by 90.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,303 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,300 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc. owned 0.11% of First Financial worth $614,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. First Financial Corp IN increased its stake in First Financial by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 761,654 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $35,181,000 after acquiring an additional 8,237 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Financial by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 273,544 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,997,000 after purchasing an additional 4,743 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of First Financial by 10.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 230,332 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $10,100,000 after purchasing an additional 22,287 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Financial by 0.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 97,608 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,280,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dean Investment Associates LLC bought a new position in First Financial in the third quarter worth $2,856,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.74% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:THFF opened at $50.36 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $48.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.58. First Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $34.58 and a fifty-two week high of $53.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $594.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.59 and a beta of 0.51.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The bank reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.08. First Financial had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 8.77%. As a group, analysts predict that First Financial Co. will post 5.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Increases Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.05%. This is a boost from First Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. First Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.00%.

Insider Transactions at First Financial

In other First Financial news, insider Mark Allen Franklin bought 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $52.53 per share, for a total transaction of $57,783.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 9,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $517,157.85. This trade represents a 12.58 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 1,196 shares of company stock valued at $62,696. Corporate insiders own 3.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $55.00 price target (up previously from $52.00) on shares of First Financial in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James upgraded shares of First Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $54.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of First Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $58.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th.

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.