First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) Given New $45.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) had its price target upped by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $43.00 to $45.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the bank’s stock.

First Financial Trading Up 4.3 %

NASDAQ THFF opened at $46.14 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $544.91 million, a P/E ratio of 9.84 and a beta of 0.48. First Financial has a 52-week low of $31.74 and a 52-week high of $47.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $38.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.01.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.96. First Financial had a return on equity of 10.07% and a net margin of 18.22%. The business had revenue of $70.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $51.95 million. Equities research analysts expect that First Financial will post 4.49 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 1st were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 1st. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.90%. First Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.38%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in First Financial by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 102,269 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,772,000 after purchasing an additional 2,046 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its position 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 valued at $622,000 after buying an additional 680 shares in the last quarter. Country Trust Bank acquired a new position in shares of First Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $111,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of First Financial by 102.3% in the 2nd 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. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in First Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $175,000. 72.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.