Barclays PLC Acquires 14,349 Shares of First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF)

Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) by 62.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,457 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,349 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC’s holdings in First Financial were worth $1,643,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in THFF. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Financial by 19.5% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 190,126 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,012,000 after purchasing an additional 30,986 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its position in First Financial by 57.1% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 47,665 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,090,000 after buying an additional 17,322 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in First Financial by 81.2% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 73,144 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,698,000 after acquiring an additional 32,783 shares in the last quarter. Dean Investment Associates LLC bought a new position in First Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,856,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in First Financial by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 273,544 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,997,000 after acquiring an additional 4,743 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Raymond James upgraded shares of First Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $54.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th.

First Financial Trading Down 2.8 %

NASDAQ:THFF opened at $43.45 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $513.06 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.78 and a beta of 0.51. 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 50-day moving average price of $47.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.29. First Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $34.58 and a 52 week high of $51.87.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $82.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $57.95 million. First Financial had a return on equity of 8.10% and a net margin of 14.86%. On average, equities analysts expect that First Financial Co. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This is an increase from First Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. First Financial’s payout ratio is 55.28%.

First Financial Company 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.