Ameriprise Financial Inc. Cuts Stock Position in First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF - Free Report) by 10.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 196,525 shares of the bank's stock after selling 22,842 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 1.66% of First Financial worth $9,077,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of THFF. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in First Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in First Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $73,000. Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new stake in First Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $205,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in First Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in First Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $284,000. 72.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other First Financial news, Director James O. Mcdonald purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $48.99 per share, with a total value of $48,990.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,462 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $463,543.38. This trade represents a 11.82% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 1,708 shares of company stock valued at $83,350. Insiders own 3.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on THFF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $55.00 target price (up previously from $52.00) on shares of First Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded First Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $58.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded First Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th.

First Financial Price Performance

First Financial stock traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $50.68. 41,892 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 55,164. First Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $34.61 and a 52-week high of $53.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $48.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $600.61 million, a P/E ratio of 12.67 and a beta of 0.41.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.26. First Financial had a return on equity of 8.77% and a net margin of 15.37%. The firm had revenue of $62.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.04 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that First Financial Co. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.03%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 1st. First Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.16%.

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.