First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN) Price Target Cut to $34.00 by Analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald

Key Points

• Cantor Fitzgerald lowered First Financial Bankshares’ price target to $34 from $35 while maintaining a “neutral” rating, implying approximately 10.35% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock has a consensus “Hold” rating from MarketBeat, with an average price target of $35.60.
• FFIN opened at $30.81 and has traded between $28.11 and $36.52 over the past year. Its latest quarterly results met EPS expectations at $0.50, while revenue was slightly below forecasts at $172.76 million.

First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN - Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by equities researchers at Cantor Fitzgerald from $35.00 to $34.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the bank's stock. Cantor Fitzgerald's price objective points to a potential upside of 10.35% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on FFIN. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of First Financial Bankshares from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Hovde Group began coverage on shares of First Financial Bankshares in a research note on Friday, September 11th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of First Financial Bankshares in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $39.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of First Financial Bankshares in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $35.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $35.60.

First Financial Bankshares Trading Up 0.1%

NASDAQ FFIN opened at $30.81 on Wednesday. First Financial Bankshares has a 12 month low of $28.11 and a 12 month high of $36.52. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.96. The company has a market capitalization of $4.42 billion, a PE ratio of 16.47 and a beta of 0.82.

First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50. The firm had revenue of $172.76 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $173.03 million. First Financial Bankshares had a return on equity of 14.00% and a net margin of 31.03%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.47 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First Financial Bankshares will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other First Financial Bankshares news, Director Michael Denny bought 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $34.66 per share, with a total value of $103,980.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 6,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $225,290. The trade was a 85.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Ronald David Butler II sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.95, for a total value of $524,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 152,223 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,320,193.85. The trade was a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 3.80% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Financial Bankshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Excelsior Advisor Network LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial Bankshares during the 1st quarter worth about $6,903,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,760,965 shares of the bank's stock worth $81,309,000 after buying an additional 45,052 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in First Financial Bankshares in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,466,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in First Financial Bankshares by 60.0% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 112,380 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,309,000 after buying an additional 42,138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Core Capital Management & Research inc. acquired a new position in First Financial Bankshares in the 2nd quarter valued at about $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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.