Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $605,000 in First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 13,109 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $605,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.11% of First Financial as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in First Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of First Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $73,000. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in First Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $205,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $284,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.74% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Financial news, Director James O. Mcdonald purchased 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $48.99 per share, with a total value of $48,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,462 shares in the company, valued at $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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Mark Allen Franklin bought 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $52.53 per share, with a total value of $57,783.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 9,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $517,157.85. This represents a 12.58% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 2,808 shares of company stock worth $141,133 over the last three months. 3.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

THFF has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut First Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded First Financial from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $58.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $55.00 price target (up from $52.00) on shares of First Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 6th.

First Financial Stock Up 1.0%

THFF traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $52.76. 3,399 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 54,308. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $625.28 million, a PE ratio of 13.19 and a beta of 0.41. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $47.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.19. First Financial Co. has a one year low of $34.61 and a one year high of $53.60.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.26. First Financial had a return on equity of 8.77% and a net margin of 15.37%. The company had revenue of $62.49 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.04 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that First Financial Co. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 1st. First Financial's dividend payout ratio is 44.16%.

About First Financial

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.