First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) Announces Dividend Increase – $0.51 Per Share

First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, December 19th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a dividend of 0.51 per share by the bank on Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This is an increase from First Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45.

First Financial has increased its dividend payment by an average of 13.7% annually over the last three years. First Financial has a payout ratio of 34.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect First Financial to earn $5.18 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 34.7%.

First Financial Stock Performance

Shares of First Financial stock opened at $45.98 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $542.93 million, a PE ratio of 12.46 and a beta of 0.50. First Financial has a 1 year low of $34.58 and a 1 year high of $51.87. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.91 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $82.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $57.95 million. First Financial had a return on equity of 8.10% and a net margin of 14.86%. Equities analysts forecast that First Financial will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Raymond James raised First Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $54.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday.

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.