First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN) Short Interest Up 5.2% in December

First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,960,000 shares, an increase of 5.2% from the November 30th total of 7,570,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 479,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 16.6 days. Approximately 5.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael B. Denny sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.12, for a total value of $287,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 101,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,156,615.20. This trade represents a 6.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO F Scott Dueser sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.73, for a total transaction of $1,018,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 471,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,183,992.92. This trade represents a 5.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Financial Bankshares

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FFIN. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 17.4% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 78,896 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,330,000 after purchasing an additional 11,701 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 5.0% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,637 shares of the bank’s stock worth $166,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 28.2% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 39,965 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,180,000 after purchasing an additional 8,784 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 3,632.9% in the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 2,992,894 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $884,000 after purchasing an additional 2,912,718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in First Financial Bankshares during the 2nd quarter worth $411,000. 69.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Financial Bankshares Trading Down 0.9 %

FFIN opened at $36.05 on Thursday. First Financial Bankshares has a 1 year low of $27.06 and a 1 year high of $44.66. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.39. The stock has a market cap of $5.15 billion, a PE ratio of 24.86 and a beta of 0.81.

First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39. The company had revenue of $142.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $140.25 million. First Financial Bankshares had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 13.43%. Equities analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. First Financial Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FFIN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Hovde Group increased their price objective on shares of First Financial Bankshares from $34.50 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Stephens boosted their price objective on First Financial Bankshares from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of First Financial Bankshares from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of First Financial Bankshares from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note 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.