First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) Short Interest Update

First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 52,100 shares, a decrease of 16.4% from the December 15th total of 62,300 shares. Currently, 0.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 50,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.0 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Raymond James upgraded 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.

First Financial Price Performance

Shares of THFF opened at $46.16 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.49. First Financial has a 1-year low of $34.58 and a 1-year high of $51.87. The company has a market cap of $545.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.51 and a beta of 0.51.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $82.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.95 million. First Financial had a return on equity of 8.10% and a net margin of 14.86%. On average, research analysts forecast that First Financial will post 3.92 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 given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This is an increase from First Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.42%. First Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.28%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of First Financial by 10.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 230,332 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $10,100,000 after acquiring an additional 22,287 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of First Financial by 62.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 37,457 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,643,000 after purchasing an additional 14,349 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Financial by 19.5% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 190,126 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,012,000 after purchasing an additional 30,986 shares during the period. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of First Financial by 57.1% in the third 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. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Financial by 81.2% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 73,144 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,698,000 after buying an additional 32,783 shares during the period. 72.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.