Rhumbline Advisers Boosts Holdings in First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF)

Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in shares of First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) by 1.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,726 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned approximately 0.16% of First Financial worth $691,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in First Financial by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 7,313 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in shares of First Financial by 4.2% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 16,854 shares of the bank’s stock worth $622,000 after buying an additional 680 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of First Financial by 7.3% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 19,857 shares of the bank’s stock worth $762,000 after buying an additional 1,359 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $64,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in First Financial by 25.2% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 9,998 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $430,000 after acquiring an additional 2,015 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.74% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Price Performance

First Financial stock opened at $43.84 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $517.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.35 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $43.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.28. First Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $31.74 and a 1 year high of $47.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96. The firm had revenue of $70.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $51.95 million. First Financial had a return on equity of 9.95% and a net margin of 18.22%. On average, research analysts forecast that First Financial Co. will post 4.39 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. First Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on First Financial from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th.

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.