First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN) Given New $33.00 Price Target at Piper Sandler

Key Points

• Piper Sandler lowered First Financial Bankshares’ price target to $33 from $35 while maintaining a “neutral” rating, implying 10.75% upside from the prior close. The consensus rating remains “Hold,” with an average price target of $35.20.
• FFIN shares fell $0.67 to $29.80, near the lower end of their 12-month range. The bank reported quarterly EPS of $0.52, in line with estimates, while revenue of $174.14 million came in below the $178.63 million consensus.
• Recent insider activity was mixed: a director purchased 3,000 shares, while the chief accounting officer sold 15,000 shares. Institutional investors and hedge funds own approximately 69.78% of the company.

First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN - Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by equities researchers at Piper Sandler from $35.00 to $33.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the bank's stock. Piper Sandler's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 10.75% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on FFIN. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and set a $34.00 price objective (down from $35.00) on shares of First Financial Bankshares in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of First Financial Bankshares from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of First Financial Bankshares in a research report on Friday, September 11th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Seaport Research Partners upgraded shares of First Financial Bankshares to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of First Financial Bankshares in a report on Wednesday. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $35.20.

First Financial Bankshares Stock Performance

FFIN stock traded down $0.67 on Monday, hitting $29.80. 282,416 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 831,375. First Financial Bankshares has a 12-month low of $28.11 and a 12-month high of $36.52. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $32.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.00. The stock has a market cap of $4.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.67 and a beta of 0.82.

First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 16th. The bank reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52. The company had revenue of $174.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $178.63 million. First Financial Bankshares had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 33.16%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.36 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that First Financial Bankshares will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael B. Denny bought 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $34.66 per share, for a total transaction of $103,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $225,290. This represents a 85.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ronald David Butler II sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.95, for a total transaction of $524,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 152,223 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,320,193.85. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of First Financial Bankshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FFIN. AWM Capital LLC boosted its position in First Financial Bankshares by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. AWM Capital LLC now owns 98,919 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,140,000 after purchasing an additional 615 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of First Financial Bankshares during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 58.7% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,792 shares of the bank's stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 2,883 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 28.8% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 4,926 shares of the bank's stock valued at $156,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102 shares during the period. Finally, Core Capital Management & Research inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Financial Bankshares in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,381,000. 69.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Financial Bankshares Company Profile

First Financial Bankshares, Inc is a Texas-based financial holding company headquartered in Abilene. Through its principal subsidiary, First Financial Bank, the company provides banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, agricultural customers and public-sector organizations.

Its offerings include checking and savings accounts, consumer and commercial loans, mortgage lending, treasury and cash-management services, online and mobile banking, and other deposit products. The company also provides trust, wealth-management and investment-related services through affiliated operations.

First Financial Bankshares traces its history to 1890 and serves communities across Texas through a network of banking locations.

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