First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,460,000 shares, a decline of 6.3% from the December 15th total of 7,960,000 shares. Approximately 5.4% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 492,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 15.2 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FFIN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Hovde Group lifted their price objective on shares of First Financial Bankshares from $34.50 to $40.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of First Financial Bankshares from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of First Financial Bankshares from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

Insider Activity at First Financial Bankshares

In related news, Director Michael B. Denny sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.12, for a total value of $287,840.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 101,085 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,156,615.20. The trade was a 6.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO F Scott Dueser sold 25,000 shares of First Financial Bankshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.73, for a total value of $1,018,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 471,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,183,992.92. This represents a 5.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 4.22% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Financial Bankshares

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lindenwold Advisors INC increased its position in First Financial Bankshares by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 9,091 shares of the bank's stock worth $336,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its position in First Financial Bankshares by 2.8% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 12,190 shares of the bank's stock worth $451,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in First Financial Bankshares by 32.2% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,369 shares of the bank's stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 577 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in First Financial Bankshares by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 113,607 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,205,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares during the period. Finally, Profund Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 9.2% during the 2nd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 10,289 shares of the bank's stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 869 shares in the last quarter. 69.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Financial Bankshares Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ FFIN traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $37.02. The company had a trading volume of 364,853 shares, compared to its average volume of 483,273. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.53 and a beta of 0.83. First Financial Bankshares has a 1-year low of $27.62 and a 1-year high of $44.66. The firm's 50 day moving average is $38.99 and its 200-day moving average is $37.01.

First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39. First Financial Bankshares had a return on equity of 13.43% and a net margin of 28.76%. The firm had revenue of $142.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $140.25 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that First Financial Bankshares will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bankshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. First Financial Bankshares's dividend payout ratio is 49.66%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.