First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) Announces Dividend Increase - $0.51 Per Share

First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, December 19th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a dividend of 0.51 per share by the bank on Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This is a positive change from First Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45.

First Financial has raised its dividend payment by an average of 13.7% per year over the last three years. First Financial has a payout ratio of 34.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect First Financial to earn $5.18 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 34.7%.

First Financial Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of THFF stock traded down $0.02 on Thursday, hitting $45.98. 70,946 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 46,609. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. First Financial has a twelve month low of $34.58 and a twelve month high of $51.87. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $47.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $542.93 million, a PE ratio of 12.46 and a beta of 0.50.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.17). First Financial had a return on equity of 8.10% and a net margin of 14.86%. The firm had revenue of $82.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $57.95 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that First Financial will post 3.92 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Raymond James upgraded First Financial from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $54.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday.

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.