First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) Insider Mark Allen Franklin Acquires 1,100 Shares of Stock

First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) insider Mark Allen Franklin acquired 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $52.53 per share, with a total value of $57,783.00. Following the transaction, the insider now 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

First Financial Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:THFF opened at $51.97 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $613.77 million, a P/E ratio of 12.99 and a beta of 0.51. First Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $34.58 and a 1 year high of $53.60. 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 50 day simple moving average is $47.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.67.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The bank reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 anticipate that First Financial Co. will post 5.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a $0.51 dividend. This is a boost from First Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.93%. First Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Financial

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of THFF. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of First Financial by 29.4% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,599 shares of the bank’s stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 1,501 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its stake in First Financial by 57.1% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 47,665 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,090,000 after buying an additional 17,322 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in First Financial by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 45,854 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,990,000 after buying an additional 2,278 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC grew 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 buying an additional 1,661 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC grew its stake in First Financial by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 45,235 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,984,000 after buying an additional 910 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on THFF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $55.00 price objective (up from $52.00) on shares of First Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James upgraded First Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $54.00 price target on the stock in a report 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.