Great Lakes Advisors LLC Sells 238 Shares of First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC lowered its stake in First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 15,100 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 238 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in First Financial were worth $697,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of First Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Foundry Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of First Financial by 1.0% during the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 57,630 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,527,000 after buying an additional 555 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Financial by 0.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 97,608 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,280,000 after buying an additional 569 shares during the period. Legato Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of First Financial by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 26,447 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,222,000 after buying an additional 904 shares during the period. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its stake in shares of First Financial by 2.1% during the third quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 45,235 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,984,000 after buying an additional 910 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

First Financial Price Performance

Shares of THFF stock opened at $49.84 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $590.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.46 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s fifty day moving average is $49.07 and its 200 day moving average is $46.91. First Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $34.58 and a twelve month high of $53.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 8.77% and a net margin of 15.37%. Research analysts expect that First Financial Co. will post 5.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were paid a $0.51 dividend. This is a boost 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 4.09%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. First Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.00%.

Insider Transactions at First Financial

In related news, insider Mark Allen Franklin bought 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $52.53 per share, with a total value of $57,783.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 9,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $517,157.85. The trade was a 12.58 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director James O. Mcdonald purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $48.99 per share, for a total transaction of $48,990.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 9,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $463,543.38. This represents a 11.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have purchased 2,195 shares of company stock valued at $111,625. Insiders own 4.06% of the company’s stock.

First Financial 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.