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

Great Lakes Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,100 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 238 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.13% of First Financial worth $697,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Financial during the 4th quarter worth $605,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in First Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $582,000. Bailard Inc. boosted its stake in First Financial by 90.0% in the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 13,303 shares of the bank’s stock worth $614,000 after purchasing an additional 6,300 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new position in First Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $205,000. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in First Financial by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 26,447 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,222,000 after purchasing an additional 904 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.74% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Stock Performance

Shares of THFF opened at $49.84 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $590.75 million, a PE ratio of 12.46 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $49.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.91. First Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $34.58 and a 12-month high of $53.60.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The bank reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.08. First Financial had a return on equity of 8.77% and a net margin of 15.37%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that First Financial Co. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a $0.51 dividend. This is an increase from First Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.09%. First Financial’s payout ratio is presently 51.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director James O. Mcdonald bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $48.99 per share, for a total transaction of $48,990.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $463,543.38. This represents a 11.82 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Mark Allen Franklin bought 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $52.53 per share, with a total value of $57,783.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,845 shares in the company, valued at $517,157.85. The trade was a 12.58 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 2,195 shares of company stock worth $111,625 in the last quarter. 4.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on THFF. Raymond James upgraded 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. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded First Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $58.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $55.00 price target (up previously from $52.00) on shares of First Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 6th.

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.