First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed their market perform rating on shares of First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a $43.00 target price on the bank’s stock, down from their prior target price of $45.00.

First Financial Stock Performance

First Financial stock opened at $37.65 on Wednesday. First Financial has a 1 year low of $31.00 and a 1 year high of $44.91. The company’s 50-day moving average is $36.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market cap of $444.65 million, a PE ratio of 8.03 and a beta of 0.52.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The bank reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.13 by ($0.07). First Financial had a net margin of 20.16% and a return on equity of 11.16%. The business had revenue of $50.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $51.10 million. Equities analysts anticipate that First Financial will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.78%. First Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.38%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Financial

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $64,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in First Financial by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,731 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in First Financial in the third quarter worth $151,000. Raymond James & Associates bought a new position in shares of First Financial during the fourth quarter worth $209,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of First Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $233,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.74% of the company’s stock.

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.