Short Interest in First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) Grows By 21.6%

First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 67,600 shares, a growth of 21.6% from the February 28th total of 55,600 shares. Currently, 0.6% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 68,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.0 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

THFF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. 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. Raymond James upgraded shares of First Financial from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $54.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $55.00 target price (up previously from $52.00) on shares of First Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Financial

In other news, Director James O. Mcdonald purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $48.99 per share, with a total value of $48,990.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 9,462 shares in the company, valued at $463,543.38. This represents a 11.82 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Mark Allen Franklin acquired 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $52.53 per share, for a total transaction of $57,783.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 9,845 shares of the company's stock, 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 have bought 2,195 shares of company stock worth $111,625 over the last 90 days. 3.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of First Financial by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 97,608 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,280,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Financial by 420.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,918 shares of the bank's stock worth $172,000 after buying an additional 3,165 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC bought a new position in shares of First Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $230,000. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Financial by 18.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 13,704 shares of the bank's stock worth $601,000 after acquiring an additional 2,154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dean Investment Associates LLC bought a new stake in First Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,856,000. 72.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Financial Stock Performance

Shares of THFF traded down $0.52 on Monday, reaching $43.35. 50,195 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 51,696. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $50.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.46. 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 firm has a market cap of $513.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.94 and a beta of 0.41. First Financial has a 12 month low of $34.58 and a 12 month high of $53.60.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The bank reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.08. First Financial had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 8.77%. Equities analysts forecast that First Financial will post 5.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.71%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. First Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.00%.

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.