Teacher Retirement System of Texas Grows Stock Holdings in First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) by 24.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,782 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 3,837 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in First Financial were worth $914,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of First Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in First Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $73,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in First Financial by 420.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,918 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $172,000 after purchasing an additional 3,165 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new stake in First Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $205,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $230,000. 72.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

First Financial Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:THFF opened at $49.09 on Friday. First Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $34.58 and a 1-year high of $53.60. 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 cap of $581.86 million, a P/E ratio of 12.27 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $50.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.33.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 8.77%. Sell-side analysts predict that First Financial Co. will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.16%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. First Financial’s payout ratio is currently 51.00%.

Insider Transactions at First Financial

In other First Financial news, Director James O. Mcdonald bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $48.99 per share, for a total transaction of $48,990.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $463,543.38. This trade represents a 11.82 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Mark Allen Franklin purchased 1,100 shares of First Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $52.53 per share, with a total value of $57,783.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 9,845 shares in the company, 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 purchased 2,195 shares of company stock worth $111,625 over the last 90 days. 3.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About First Financial

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.