First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) Shares Purchased by Legato Capital Management LLC

Legato Capital Management LLC boosted its position in First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,447 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 904 shares during the period. Legato Capital Management LLC’s holdings in First Financial were worth $1,222,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Financial Corp IN boosted its holdings in shares of First Financial by 1.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in First Financial by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 273,544 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,997,000 after purchasing an additional 4,743 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in First Financial by 10.7% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in First Financial by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 97,608 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,280,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of First Financial by 81.2% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 73,144 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,698,000 after buying an additional 32,783 shares in the last quarter. 72.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

THFF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James raised First Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $54.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $55.00 price target (up from $52.00) on shares of First Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 6th.

First Financial Price Performance

THFF stock opened at $52.03 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $614.47 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.01 and a beta of 0.51. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $47.78 and a 200-day moving average of $45.58. First Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $34.58 and a 12-month high of $53.60.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The bank reported $1.37 EPS 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that First Financial Co. will post 5.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. 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 3.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. First Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.00%.

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.