William Randolph Krieble Acquires 440 Shares of First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) Stock

First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) Director William Randolph Krieble bought 440 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $48.09 per share, with a total value of $21,159.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $307,054.65. This trade represents a 7.40 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

First Financial Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ THFF opened at $47.31 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $560.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.83 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $48.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.65. First Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $34.61 and a 52-week high of $53.60.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $62.49 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.04 million. First Financial had a return on equity of 8.77% and a net margin of 15.37%. Sell-side analysts expect that First Financial Co. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st were paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.31%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 1st. First Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

THFF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $55.00 target price (up previously 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 price target for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Financial

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of THFF. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in First Financial by 18.6% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 13,704 shares of the bank’s stock worth $601,000 after buying an additional 2,154 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in First Financial by 62.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 37,457 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,643,000 after buying an additional 14,349 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in First Financial by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 273,544 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,997,000 after buying an additional 4,743 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in First Financial by 10.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 230,332 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,100,000 after buying an additional 22,287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new position in First Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Institutional investors own 72.74% of the company’s stock.

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.