Franklin Resources Inc. Decreases Holdings in First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF)

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its stake in First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) by 1.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,163 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 262 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.17% of First Financial worth $875,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Dean Investment Associates LLC bought a new stake in First Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,856,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in First Financial by 15.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 302,323 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,150,000 after purchasing an additional 40,726 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in First Financial by 81.2% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 73,144 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,698,000 after purchasing an additional 32,783 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Financial by 19.5% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 190,126 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,012,000 after purchasing an additional 30,986 shares during the period. Finally, CM Management LLC raised its stake in First Financial by 185.7% in the second quarter. CM Management LLC now owns 40,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,475,000 after purchasing an additional 26,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.74% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of THFF opened at $46.58 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $550.02 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.62 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $47.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.66. First Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $34.58 and a fifty-two week high of $51.87.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) last announced its earnings results 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 during 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First Financial Co. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.38%. This is a positive change from First Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. First Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Raymond James raised shares of First Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $54.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th.

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.