Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Increases First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) Price Target to $43.00

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) had its price target increased by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $40.00 to $43.00 in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “market perform” rating on the bank’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price indicates a potential upside of 13.07% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of First Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. TheStreet upgraded First Financial from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Friday, August 11th.

First Financial Stock Performance

Shares of THFF stock opened at $38.03 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $447.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.04 and a beta of 0.53. First Financial has a 52 week low of $31.00 and a 52 week high of $49.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $34.45 and a 200-day moving average of $34.85.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 24th. The bank reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $52.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $51.01 million. First Financial had a net margin of 24.55% and a return on equity of 13.30%. On average, equities analysts forecast that First Financial will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Financial

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of THFF. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in First Financial by 17.0% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,331,453 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $57,625,000 after acquiring an additional 193,283 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in First Financial by 42.4% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 524,197 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $22,687,000 after acquiring an additional 156,091 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can bought a new position in First Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,349,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in First Financial by 31.6% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 216,255 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,105,000 after acquiring an additional 51,920 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management lifted its stake in First Financial by 13.4% during the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 417,808 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $15,659,000 after acquiring an additional 49,420 shares in the last quarter. 72.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.