Tudor Investment Corp ET AL Purchases 17,782 Shares of First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF)

Tudor Investment Corp ET AL grew its position in shares of First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF - Free Report) by 88.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 37,787 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 17,782 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL owned approximately 0.32% of First Financial worth $1,745,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in First Financial by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,381 shares of the bank's stock worth $942,000 after acquiring an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of First Financial by 121.7% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 14,798 shares of the bank's stock worth $685,000 after purchasing an additional 8,124 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of First Financial by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 9,282 shares of the bank's stock worth $429,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in First Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in First Financial by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 42,479 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,962,000 after purchasing an additional 5,022 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.74% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Financial news, insider Mark Allen Franklin purchased 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $52.53 per share, with a total value of $57,783.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 9,845 shares of the company's stock, valued at $517,157.85. The trade was a 12.58 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director James O. Mcdonald purchased 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $48.99 per share, for a total transaction of $48,990.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 9,462 shares of the company's stock, valued at $463,543.38. This represents a 11.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 2,775 shares of company stock worth $139,480. 3.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

First Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ THFF traded down $0.31 on Friday, reaching $50.89. 40,551 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 54,494. The stock has a market cap of $603.20 million, a PE ratio of 12.72 and a beta of 0.41. First Financial Co. has a 12 month low of $34.61 and a 12 month high of $53.60. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $62.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.04 million. First Financial had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 8.77%. As a group, research analysts predict that First Financial Co. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 1st. First Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.