First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The bank reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.08, Zacks reports. First Financial had a return on equity of 8.10% and a net margin of 14.86%.

First Financial Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of First Financial stock traded up $0.31 on Thursday, hitting $52.31. 61,358 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 49,557. First Financial has a one year low of $34.58 and a one year high of $52.42. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $617.78 million, a PE ratio of 14.18 and a beta of 0.50. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $47.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.37.

First Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This is a positive change from First Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. First Financial's payout ratio is currently 55.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

THFF has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James raised shares of First Financial from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $54.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $55.00 price objective (up previously from $52.00) on shares of First Financial 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.