First Financial Corporation Indiana (NASDAQ:THFF) Reaches New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• First Financial Corporation Indiana (NASDAQ:THFF) shares reached a new 52-week high of $59.74 during trading, signaling strong market performance.
• Analysts upgraded the stock's rating from "hold" to "buy" and raised the price target to $61.00, indicating positive outlook among investment analysts.
• The company reported earnings of $1.57 per share, surpassing estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.51 with a yield of 3.5%.

Shares of First Financial Corporation Indiana (NASDAQ:THFF - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $59.74 and last traded at $59.21, with a volume of 4357 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $59.24.

Analyst Ratings Changes

THFF has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded First Financial Corporation Indiana from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on First Financial Corporation Indiana from $55.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of First Financial Corporation Indiana in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $57.67.

First Financial Corporation Indiana Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $697.43 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.28 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $55.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.76.

First Financial Corporation Indiana (NASDAQ:THFF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. First Financial Corporation Indiana had a net margin of 18.44% and a return on equity of 10.90%. The business had revenue of $63.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.28 million. Analysts predict that First Financial Corporation Indiana will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Corporation Indiana Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st were issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 1st. First Financial Corporation Indiana's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.01%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Financial Corporation Indiana

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of First Financial Corporation Indiana by 36.1% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 32,780 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,760,000 after purchasing an additional 8,696 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in First Financial Corporation Indiana by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 15,094 shares of the bank's stock worth $818,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its stake in First Financial Corporation Indiana by 20.2% during the 2nd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 9,073 shares of the bank's stock worth $492,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522 shares in the last quarter. HoldCo Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in First Financial Corporation Indiana during the 2nd quarter worth $1,093,000. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new stake in First Financial Corporation Indiana during the 2nd quarter worth $269,000. 72.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About First Financial Corporation Indiana

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.

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