First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.45

First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, September 19th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of 0.45 per share by the bank on Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st.

First Financial has increased its dividend by an average of 13.7% per year over the last three years. First Financial has a payout ratio of 35.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect First Financial to earn $5.10 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 35.3%.

First Financial Stock Down 0.3 %

THFF stock opened at $43.16 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $509.89 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.20 and a beta of 0.47. First Financial has a twelve month low of $31.74 and a twelve month high of $47.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $43.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96. The business had revenue of $70.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $51.95 million. First Financial had a net margin of 18.22% and a return on equity of 9.95%. Analysts anticipate that First Financial will post 4.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of First Financial from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th.

About First Financial

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.