JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Stock Holdings in First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 230,332 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,287 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 1.95% of First Financial worth $10,100,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC lifted its position in First Financial by 62.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 37,457 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,643,000 after buying an additional 14,349 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of First Financial by 19.5% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 190,126 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,012,000 after purchasing an additional 30,986 shares during the period. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of First Financial by 57.1% in 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 period. Millennium Management LLC raised its position 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 last quarter. Finally, Dean Investment Associates LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Financial during the third quarter worth about $2,856,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.74% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Stock Performance

Shares of THFF stock opened at $43.45 on Monday. First Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $34.58 and a 1 year high of $51.87. The stock has a market cap of $513.06 million, a PE ratio of 11.78 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $47.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.35. 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 released 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). The company had revenue of $82.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.95 million. First Financial had a return on equity of 8.10% and a net margin of 14.86%. Sell-side analysts forecast that First Financial Co. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This is an increase from First Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.70%. First Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 55.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Raymond James raised shares of First Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $54.00 target price 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.