First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.51

First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, March 21st, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of 0.51 per share by the bank on Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.13%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st.

First Financial has raised its dividend by an average of 20.6% per year over the last three years. First Financial has a payout ratio of 35.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect First Financial to earn $5.94 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.04 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 34.3%.

First Financial Stock Down 1.4 %

THFF opened at $49.35 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.06. First Financial has a 52 week low of $34.58 and a 52 week high of $53.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a market cap of $584.95 million, a PE ratio of 12.34 and a beta of 0.49.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 8.77%. As a group, research analysts expect that First Financial will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on THFF. Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of First Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $58.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Raymond James raised shares of First Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $54.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective (up previously from $52.00) on shares of First Financial in a report on Thursday, February 6th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Mark Allen Franklin acquired 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $52.53 per share, with a total value of $57,783.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 9,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $517,157.85. The trade was a 12.58 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director James O. Mcdonald bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $48.99 per share, for a total transaction of $48,990.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 9,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $463,543.38. This trade represents a 11.82 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 2,195 shares of company stock valued at $111,625. Corporate insiders own 3.69% of the company’s stock.

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.