First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) Shares Acquired by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,142 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,288 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned about 0.41% of First Financial worth $2,224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial in the 4th quarter worth $73,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of First Financial by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,580 shares of the bank’s stock worth $673,000 after purchasing an additional 2,171 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN increased its position in shares of First Financial by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 761,654 shares of the bank’s stock worth $35,181,000 after purchasing an additional 8,237 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of First Financial by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 230,332 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,100,000 after purchasing an additional 22,287 shares during the last quarter. 72.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ THFF opened at $51.97 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $613.77 million, a P/E ratio of 12.99 and a beta of 0.51. 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 50-day moving average of $47.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.67. First Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $34.58 and a 1-year high of $53.60.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The bank reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that First Financial Co. will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a $0.51 dividend. This is an increase 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 was Friday, January 3rd. First Financial’s payout ratio is currently 51.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on THFF shares. Raymond James raised First Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $54.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $55.00 price objective (up from $52.00) on shares of First Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Financial

In related news, insider Mark Allen Franklin acquired 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $52.53 per share, for a total transaction of $57,783.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 9,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $517,157.85. This represents a 12.58 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders bought a total of 1,196 shares of company stock valued at $62,696 in the last three months. 3.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

First Financial 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.