First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) saw strong trading volume on Monday . 72,457 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 42% from the previous session’s volume of 50,911 shares.The stock last traded at $52.53 and had previously closed at $52.02.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on THFF shares. Raymond James raised shares of First Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $54.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $55.00 price target (up from $52.00) on shares of First Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 6th.

First Financial Trading Down 2.8 %

The stock has a market cap of $614.47 million, a PE ratio of 13.01 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.58.

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

First Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. This is a positive change from First Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.92%. First Financial’s payout ratio is 51.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Financial

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Financial by 81.2% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 73,144 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,698,000 after buying an additional 32,783 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial by 23.0% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,409 shares of the bank’s stock worth $544,000 after acquiring an additional 2,323 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Financial by 29.4% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,599 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 1,501 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of First Financial by 57.1% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 47,665 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,090,000 after purchasing an additional 17,322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in First Financial by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 45,854 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,990,000 after purchasing an additional 2,278 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.74% of the company’s stock.

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.