Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN) Stock

First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN) had its price objective raised by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $36.00 to $38.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “market perform” rating on the bank’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target points to a potential upside of 1.82% from the stock’s previous close.

Separately, Hovde Group reduced their price target on shares of First Financial Bankshares from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st.

First Financial Bankshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FFIN opened at $37.32 on Friday. First Financial Bankshares has a one year low of $30.58 and a one year high of $44.66. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.70 and a beta of 0.87.

First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.02. First Financial Bankshares had a net margin of 31.01% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The business had revenue of $156.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $156.41 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.37 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that First Financial Bankshares will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Financial Bankshares

In related news, Director Michael B. Denny acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $36.02 per share, with a total value of $180,100.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 108,708 shares in the company, valued at $3,915,662.16. This trade represents a 4.82% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders purchased a total of 6,399 shares of company stock worth $227,646 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 4.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Financial Bankshares

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in First Financial Bankshares by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,095,584 shares of the bank’s stock worth $508,146,000 after acquiring an additional 110,923 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in First Financial Bankshares by 5.9% in the first quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,901,239 shares of the bank’s stock worth $104,213,000 after purchasing an additional 161,991 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in First Financial Bankshares by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,572,218 shares of the bank’s stock worth $92,733,000 after purchasing an additional 42,280 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in First Financial Bankshares by 36.0% in the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,465,774 shares of the bank’s stock worth $88,571,000 after purchasing an additional 652,575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in First Financial Bankshares by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,776,607 shares of the bank’s stock worth $64,047,000 after purchasing an additional 133,274 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.78% of the company’s stock.

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.