First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) Director Purchases $48,990.00 in Stock

First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) Director James O. Mcdonald acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $48.99 per share, for a total transaction of $48,990.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 9,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $463,543.38. The trade was a 11.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

First Financial Price Performance

Shares of First Financial stock traded down $0.38 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $48.31. The stock had a trading volume of 28,998 shares, compared to its average volume of 46,429. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $48.82 and its 200 day moving average is $46.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. First Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $34.58 and a twelve month high of $53.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $570.40 million, a PE ratio of 12.06 and a beta of 0.49.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The bank reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.08. First Financial had a return on equity of 8.77% and a net margin of 15.37%. Equities analysts expect that First Financial Co. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a positive change from First Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.22%. First Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in THFF. Martingale Asset Management L P raised its position in First Financial by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 46,048 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,127,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of First Financial by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 6,509 shares of the bank’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of First Financial by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 6,979 shares of the bank’s stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in First Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC increased its stake in First Financial by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 57,630 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,527,000 after buying an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

THFF has been the topic of several recent research reports. Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of First Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $58.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. Raymond James raised First Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $54.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $55.00 price target (up from $52.00) on shares of First Financial in a report on Thursday, February 6th.

About First Financial

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.