Short Interest in First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) Declines By 18.1%

First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 48,100 shares, a drop of 18.1% from the January 15th total of 58,700 shares. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 55,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.9 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Mark Allen Franklin acquired 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $52.53 per share, with a total value of $57,783.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 9,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $517,157.85. The trade was a 12.58 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 1,196 shares of company stock valued at $62,696. Insiders own 3.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in First Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of First Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $73,000. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of First Financial by 420.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,918 shares of the bank’s stock worth $172,000 after buying an additional 3,165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new stake in First Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $205,000. 72.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

THFF has been the subject of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $55.00 price target (up from $52.00) on shares of First Financial in a report on Thursday, February 6th. 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 Stock Performance

Shares of THFF stock opened at $51.97 on Monday. 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 12-month low of $34.58 and a 12-month high of $53.60. The company has a market cap of $613.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.99 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.72.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The bank reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.08. First Financial had a return on equity of 8.77% and a net margin of 15.37%. On average, equities analysts forecast that First Financial will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. 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 3.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. First Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.00%.

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.