First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN) Sees Large Volume Increase After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN) saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. 179,808 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 64% from the previous session’s volume of 501,571 shares.The stock last traded at $29.15 and had previously closed at $28.80.

The bank reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $129.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $129.72 million. First Financial Bankshares had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 31.28%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.39 earnings per share.

First Financial Bankshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. First Financial Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is 51.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on FFIN. Stephens cut their target price on First Financial Bankshares from $35.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on First Financial Bankshares from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on First Financial Bankshares from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Financial Bankshares currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in First Financial Bankshares by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 8,691 shares of the bank’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in First Financial Bankshares by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 24,927 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $755,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its position in First Financial Bankshares by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 8,114 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in First Financial Bankshares by 81.1% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 927 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its position in First Financial Bankshares by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 160,861 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,874,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.78% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bankshares Trading Up 4.2 %

The firm has a market cap of $4.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.44 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.85.

About First Financial Bankshares

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.