Edgestream Partners L.P. Makes New Investment in First Financial Bankshares, Inc. $FFIN

Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 106,719 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $3,840,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. owned 0.07% of First Financial Bankshares at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in FFIN. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 2.2% in the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 13,358 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $481,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in First Financial Bankshares by 47.5% during the 1st quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,255 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 33.3% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,648 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 32,527 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,170,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares during the period. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 36,439 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,311,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.78% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on FFIN shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of First Financial Bankshares from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on First Financial Bankshares in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $39.00 price target for the company. Hovde Group upgraded First Financial Bankshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $39.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of First Financial Bankshares in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.00.

First Financial Bankshares Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of FFIN opened at $31.65 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.53 billion, a PE ratio of 18.73 and a beta of 0.85. First Financial Bankshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $29.80 and a 12 month high of $41.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $31.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.52.

First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.11). First Financial Bankshares had a net margin of 29.81% and a return on equity of 14.16%. The business had revenue of $161.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $161.21 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.37 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that First Financial Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.78 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. First Financial Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is 44.97%.

Insider Activity at First Financial Bankshares

In related news, Director Sally Pope Davis acquired 1,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 31st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $30.73 per share, with a total value of $52,241.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $214,218.83. This trade represents a 32.25% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michelle S. Hickox bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $31.15 per share, for a total transaction of $62,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 24,461 shares in the company, valued at $761,960.15. The trade was a 8.90% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders purchased a total of 4,353 shares of company stock valued at $134,888 over the last ninety days. 3.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.