Raymond James Upgrades First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) to Outperform

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) was upgraded by investment analysts at Raymond James from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $54.00 price target on the bank’s stock. Raymond James’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 15.85% from the company’s current price.

First Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:THFF opened at $46.61 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. First Financial has a 1-year low of $34.58 and a 1-year high of $51.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $550.37 million, a P/E ratio of 12.63 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $47.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.17.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Financial

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of First Financial by 62.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 37,457 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,643,000 after buying an additional 14,349 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in First Financial by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 273,544 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,997,000 after purchasing an additional 4,743 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in First Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $279,000. Dean Investment Associates LLC acquired a new stake in First Financial in the third quarter worth $2,856,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in shares of First Financial by 18.6% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 13,704 shares of the bank’s stock worth $601,000 after purchasing an additional 2,154 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.