First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN) Earns Neutral Rating from Analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald

Key Points

• Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on First Financial Bankshares with a "neutral" rating and a price target of $39.00, indicating a potential upside of 7.81% from its previous close.
• First Financial Bankshares reported earnings per share of $0.47 for the last quarter, surpassing estimates by $0.02, with revenues of $156.60 million.
• Insider Michael B. Denny increased his stake in First Financial Bankshares by purchasing 5,000 shares at an average price of $36.02, raising his total ownership to 108,708 shares.

Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN - Free Report) in a research note published on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a neutral rating and a $39.00 price target on the bank's stock.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on FFIN. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of First Financial Bankshares from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Hovde Group upped their price target on shares of First Financial Bankshares from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $39.20.

First Financial Bankshares Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:FFIN traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $36.02. The stock had a trading volume of 417,607 shares, compared to its average volume of 490,656. First Financial Bankshares has a 1-year low of $30.58 and a 1-year high of $44.66. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.48. The company has a market cap of $5.15 billion, a PE ratio of 20.94 and a beta of 0.89.

First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.02. First Financial Bankshares had a net margin of 31.01% and a return on equity of 14.69%. The company had revenue of $156.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $156.41 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.37 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that First Financial Bankshares will post 1.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bankshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. First Financial Bankshares's payout ratio is currently 44.19%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Financial Bankshares

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FFIN. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in First Financial Bankshares by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 480,869 shares of the bank's stock worth $17,338,000 after purchasing an additional 8,787 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in First Financial Bankshares by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 52,822 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,904,000 after purchasing an additional 6,590 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Financial Bankshares during the fourth quarter valued at $835,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 74,092 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,671,000 after acquiring an additional 2,894 shares during the period. Finally, Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP acquired a new position in shares of First Financial Bankshares during the fourth quarter valued at $929,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.78% of the company's stock.

First Financial Bankshares Company Profile

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.