First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 65,200 shares, a drop of 24.4% from the July 15th total of 86,300 shares. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 47,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on First Financial from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of First Financial by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,731 shares of the bank’s stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in First Financial by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 9,111 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $392,000 after buying an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in First Financial by 1.8% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 18,726 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $691,000 after buying an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in First Financial by 6.0% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 7,043 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in First Financial by 9.2% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 7,313 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $280,000 after buying an additional 617 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.74% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ THFF traded up $0.63 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $42.44. The company had a trading volume of 76,604 shares, compared to its average volume of 46,798. First Financial has a fifty-two week low of $31.74 and a fifty-two week high of $47.00. The firm has a market cap of $501.39 million, a P/E ratio of 9.05 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.96. First Financial had a return on equity of 9.95% and a net margin of 18.22%. The company had revenue of $70.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $51.95 million. Equities analysts predict that First Financial will post 4.39 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 1st were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 1st. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.24%. First Financial’s payout ratio is 38.38%.

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.