KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Buys Shares of 15,300 First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 15,300 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $707,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS owned approximately 0.13% of First Financial at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in First Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of First Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in First Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $73,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in First Financial by 420.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,918 shares of the bank's stock worth $172,000 after buying an additional 3,165 shares during the period. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in First Financial in the 4th quarter worth $205,000. 72.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director James O. Mcdonald acquired 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $48.99 per share, with a total value of $48,990.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 9,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $463,543.38. The trade was a 11.82 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Mark Allen Franklin bought 1,100 shares of First Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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 in the company, valued at $517,157.85. This trade represents a 12.58 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 2,195 shares of company stock valued at $111,625. 3.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Remove Ads

First Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ THFF traded down $1.19 during trading on Friday, reaching $43.87. The stock had a trading volume of 96,029 shares, compared to its average volume of 51,659. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $519.99 million, a PE ratio of 10.97 and a beta of 0.41. First Financial Co. has a one year low of $34.58 and a one year high of $53.60. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $50.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $47.46.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The bank reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that First Financial Co. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.65%. First Financial's payout ratio is currently 51.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

THFF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $55.00 target price (up from $52.00) on shares of First Financial in a research 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 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, December 19th.

First Financial Profile

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.