First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN) has received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from five brokerages, with an average 12-month price target of $39.00.
• Institutional investors hold 69.78% of the stock, with GAMMA Investing LLC significantly increasing its position by 6,719.5% recently.
• First Financial Bankshares announced a quarterly dividend of $0.19, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 2.3% and a payout ratio of 44.19%.

First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the five brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $39.00.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of First Financial Bankshares from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Hovde Group upped their price objective on shares of First Financial Bankshares from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of First Financial Bankshares in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $39.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of First Financial Bankshares in a research report on Saturday, September 27th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Financial Bankshares

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FFIN. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 6,719.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 69,218 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,486,000 after buying an additional 68,203 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 1.7% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 422,799 shares of the bank's stock valued at $15,187,000 after buying an additional 6,971 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 245.6% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,904 shares of the bank's stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 1,353 shares during the last quarter. Paragon Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 8.3% in the first quarter. Paragon Advisors LLC now owns 12,143 shares of the bank's stock valued at $436,000 after buying an additional 932 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 15.9% in the first quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 32,018 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,150,000 after buying an additional 4,400 shares during the last quarter. 69.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Financial Bankshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FFIN opened at $33.50 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $35.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.28. First Financial Bankshares has a 1 year low of $30.58 and a 1 year high of $44.66. The company has a market capitalization of $4.79 billion, a PE ratio of 19.48 and a beta of 0.86.

First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $156.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $156.41 million. First Financial Bankshares had a net margin of 31.01% and a return on equity of 14.69%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.37 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that First Financial Bankshares will post 1.78 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were given a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. First Financial Bankshares's dividend payout ratio is 44.19%.

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.

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