Short Interest in First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN) Declines By 6.3%

First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,460,000 shares, a decrease of 6.3% from the December 15th total of 7,960,000 shares. Currently, 5.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 492,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 15.2 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on FFIN shares. Hovde Group boosted their price target on shares of First Financial Bankshares from $34.50 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of First Financial Bankshares from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of First Financial Bankshares from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO F Scott Dueser sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.73, for a total transaction of $1,018,250.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 471,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,183,992.92. This represents a 5.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Michael B. Denny sold 7,000 shares of First Financial Bankshares stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.12, for a total value of $287,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 101,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,156,615.20. This represents a 6.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 4.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in First Financial Bankshares by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 12,665 shares of the bank’s stock worth $457,000 after buying an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Financial Bankshares during the 4th quarter worth $603,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 39.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 461,726 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $17,088,000 after acquiring an additional 131,063 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 113,607 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,205,000 after acquiring an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in First Financial Bankshares by 8.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,361,921 shares of the bank’s stock worth $124,446,000 after purchasing an additional 249,011 shares during the last quarter. 69.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Financial Bankshares Trading Up 0.6 %

FFIN stock traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $37.02. The stock had a trading volume of 364,853 shares, compared to its average volume of 483,273. First Financial Bankshares has a 52-week low of $27.62 and a 52-week high of $44.66. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.06. The company has a market cap of $5.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.53 and a beta of 0.83.

First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39. The business had revenue of $142.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $140.25 million. First Financial Bankshares had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 13.43%. Sell-side analysts predict that First Financial Bankshares will post 1.52 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bankshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. First Financial Bankshares’s payout ratio is 49.66%.

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.