Proficio Capital Partners LLC Invests $582,000 in First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 12,610 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $582,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC owned approximately 0.11% of First Financial as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in THFF. Dean Investment Associates LLC bought a new stake in First Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,856,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in First Financial by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 230,332 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $10,100,000 after acquiring an additional 22,287 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its stake in First Financial by 62.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 37,457 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,643,000 after acquiring an additional 14,349 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN raised its stake in First Financial by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 761,654 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $35,181,000 after acquiring an additional 8,237 shares during the period. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in First Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $279,000. Institutional investors own 72.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

THFF has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded First Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $58.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Raymond James upgraded First Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $54.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $55.00 price target (up previously from $52.00) on shares of First Financial in a research note on Thursday, February 6th.

Insider Transactions at First Financial

In related news, insider Mark Allen Franklin bought 1,100 shares of First Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $52.53 per share, with a total value of $57,783.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 9,845 shares in the company, valued at $517,157.85. This trade represents a 12.58 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 3.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

First Financial Stock Down 0.5 %

THFF stock opened at $49.15 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $580.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.29 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $48.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.73. First Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $34.58 and a fifty-two week high of $53.60.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The bank reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 anticipate that First Financial Co. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued 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 dividend yield of 4.15%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. First Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 51.00%.

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.