First Financial Corporation Indiana (NASDAQ:THFF) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

First Financial Corporation Indiana (NASDAQ:THFF) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 229,095 shares, an increase of 31.1% from the February 26th total of 174,755 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 68,472 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days. Currently, 2.0% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

THFF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of First Financial Corporation Indiana from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Financial Corporation Indiana in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.00.

First Financial Corporation Indiana Trading Up 1.5%

First Financial Corporation Indiana stock traded up $0.96 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $63.60. 88,853 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 76,530. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.32. First Financial Corporation Indiana has a 52 week low of $42.05 and a 52 week high of $69.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $756.18 million, a PE ratio of 9.52 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

First Financial Corporation Indiana (NASDAQ:THFF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The bank reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $70.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.93 million. First Financial Corporation Indiana had a net margin of 22.79% and a return on equity of 13.02%. Equities research analysts anticipate that First Financial Corporation Indiana will post 5.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Corporation Indiana Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 1st. First Financial Corporation Indiana’s payout ratio is presently 33.53%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Financial Corporation Indiana

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of THFF. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in First Financial Corporation Indiana by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 825,465 shares of the bank’s stock worth $49,875,000 after purchasing an additional 30,481 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN lifted its stake in First Financial Corporation Indiana by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 638,899 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,602,000 after buying an additional 19,784 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Financial Corporation Indiana by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 495,175 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,918,000 after buying an additional 11,743 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of First Financial Corporation Indiana by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 450,342 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,210,000 after buying an additional 1,332 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management increased its position in shares of First Financial Corporation Indiana by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 402,061 shares of the bank’s stock worth $24,293,000 after acquiring an additional 15,528 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.74% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Corporation Indiana Company Profile

First Financial Corporation Indiana is a bank holding company headquartered in Terre Haute, Indiana, that offers a full suite of financial services to individuals and businesses. Through its subsidiary, First Financial Bank, the company provides traditional banking products including checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, and cash management solutions. It also offers consumer and commercial lending services ranging from residential mortgages and home equity lines of credit to working capital loans and equipment financing.

The company’s service offerings extend beyond core banking to include wealth management and trust services, retirement planning, and brokerage solutions.