First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN) Short Interest Down 5.5% in September

First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 7,770,000 shares, a decrease of 5.5% from the September 15th total of 8,220,000 shares. Approximately 5.7% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 579,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 13.4 days.

First Financial Bankshares Stock Performance

FFIN opened at $38.40 on Friday. First Financial Bankshares has a 1 year low of $22.84 and a 1 year high of $39.53. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.49 billion, a PE ratio of 27.43 and a beta of 0.78.

First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. First Financial Bankshares had a net margin of 29.13% and a return on equity of 14.01%. The company had revenue of $184.94 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $134.10 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that First Financial Bankshares will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, September 12th were given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 12th. First Financial Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.43%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,637 shares of the bank’s stock worth $166,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its position in First Financial Bankshares by 6.0% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 5,265 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $155,000 after buying an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in First Financial Bankshares by 81.1% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 927 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its position in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 0.3% in the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 161,287 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,292,000 after acquiring an additional 426 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 12,130 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on FFIN shares. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of First Financial Bankshares from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on First Financial Bankshares from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th.

First Financial Bankshares Company Profile

First Financial Bankshares, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides commercial banking products and services in Texas. The company offers checking, savings and time deposits; automated teller machines, drive-in, and night deposit services; safe deposit facilities, remote deposit capture, internet banking, mobile banking, payroll cards, funds transfer, and performing other customary commercial banking services; securities brokerage services; and trust and wealth management services, including wealth management, estates administration, oil and gas management, testamentary trusts, revocable and irrevocable trusts, and agency accounts.