First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) Sets New 52-Week High at $45.71

First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $45.71 and last traded at $45.56, with a volume of 12961 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $44.22.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $43.00 price target (down previously from $45.00) on shares of First Financial in a report on Wednesday, May 1st.

First Financial Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $538.65 million, a P/E ratio of 9.43 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The business has a 50-day moving average of $37.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.88.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The bank reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $48.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.75 million. First Financial had a return on equity of 11.04% and a net margin of 20.16%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Financial Co. will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 1st were given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 1st. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.95%. First Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.38%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its stake in shares of First Financial by 4.2% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 16,854 shares of the bank’s stock worth $622,000 after purchasing an additional 680 shares during the last quarter. Country Trust Bank bought a new position in shares of First Financial in the second quarter worth $111,000. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of First Financial by 102.3% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,098 shares of the bank’s stock worth $188,000 after buying an additional 2,578 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new stake in shares of First Financial in the first quarter worth $175,000. Finally, Boston Partners purchased a new stake in First Financial during the first quarter valued at about $665,000. Institutional investors own 72.74% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Company Profile

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.