First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Analyst Says

First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN) had its price objective raised by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $40.00 to $41.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the bank’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on FFIN. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of First Financial Bankshares from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Hovde Group increased their price target on First Financial Bankshares from $34.50 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st.

First Financial Bankshares Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of FFIN stock opened at $37.37 on Monday. First Financial Bankshares has a 12-month low of $27.62 and a 12-month high of $44.66. The company has a market capitalization of $5.34 billion, a PE ratio of 25.77 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $38.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.46.

First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.03. First Financial Bankshares had a return on equity of 13.43% and a net margin of 28.76%. As a group, research analysts expect that First Financial Bankshares will post 1.52 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other First Financial Bankshares news, Director Michael B. Denny sold 7,000 shares of First Financial Bankshares stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.12, for a total value of $287,840.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 101,085 shares in the company, valued at $4,156,615.20. The trade was a 6.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO F Scott Dueser sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 471,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,183,992.92. This trade represents a 5.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 4.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Financial Bankshares

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Financial Bankshares during the second quarter worth $1,825,000. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in First Financial Bankshares by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 17,924 shares of the bank’s stock worth $530,000 after purchasing an additional 1,892 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 19.7% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 127,782 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,773,000 after purchasing an additional 21,020 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 15.8% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 17,468 shares of the bank’s stock worth $511,000 after purchasing an additional 2,379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 1.0% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 176,774 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,220,000 after buying an additional 1,826 shares during the period. 69.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About First Financial Bankshares

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.