First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN) Short Interest Down 6.3% in December

First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,460,000 shares, a decrease of 6.3% from the December 15th total of 7,960,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 492,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 15.2 days. Currently, 5.4% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Financial Bankshares

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Financial Bankshares in the 3rd quarter valued at $673,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 4.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,222,092 shares of the bank’s stock worth $231,381,000 after purchasing an additional 281,166 shares during the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial Bankshares during the second quarter worth about $637,000. Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 27.0% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 250,553 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,273,000 after purchasing an additional 53,195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 43.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 393,902 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,578,000 after purchasing an additional 118,830 shares during the period. 69.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Financial Bankshares Stock Up 0.6 %

First Financial Bankshares stock traded up $0.23 during trading on Monday, reaching $37.02. The stock had a trading volume of 364,853 shares, compared to its average volume of 483,273. First Financial Bankshares has a 52-week low of $27.62 and a 52-week high of $44.66. The stock has a market cap of $5.29 billion, a PE ratio of 25.53 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $38.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.06.

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

First Financial Bankshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. First Financial Bankshares’s payout ratio is currently 49.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FFIN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Hovde Group boosted their price objective on First Financial Bankshares from $34.50 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of First Financial Bankshares from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Stephens upped their target price on shares of First Financial Bankshares from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th.

First Financial Bankshares Company Profile

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.