Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Cuts Stake in First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC cut its holdings in First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) by 53.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,855 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 2,105 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC’s holdings in First Financial were worth $86,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Martingale Asset Management L P raised its position in shares of First Financial by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 46,048 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,127,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of First Financial by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 6,979 shares of the bank’s stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in First Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Legato Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in First Financial by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 26,447 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,222,000 after acquiring an additional 904 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in First Financial by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 51,469 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,377,000 after purchasing an additional 1,104 shares in the last quarter. 72.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James O. Mcdonald acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $48.99 per share, with a total value of $48,990.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 9,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $463,543.38. This trade represents a 11.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Mark Allen Franklin bought 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $52.53 per share, with a total value of $57,783.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $517,157.85. This trade represents a 12.58 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 2,775 shares of company stock valued at $139,480 over the last three months. 3.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

First Financial Stock Performance

First Financial stock opened at $50.89 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. First Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $34.61 and a twelve month high of $53.60. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $47.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.04. The company has a market cap of $603.20 million, a PE ratio of 12.72 and a beta of 0.41.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $62.49 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.04 million. First Financial had a return on equity of 8.77% and a net margin of 15.37%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that First Financial Co. will post 5.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st were given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.01%. First Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on THFF. StockNews.com lowered First Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $55.00 price target (up previously from $52.00) on shares of First Financial in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded First Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $58.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th.

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.