AQR Capital Management LLC Acquires 40,726 Shares of First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF)

AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF - Free Report) by 15.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 302,323 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 40,726 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.56% of First Financial worth $11,150,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Country Trust Bank bought a new position in First Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $111,000. Comerica Bank boosted its position in shares of First Financial by 6,849.2% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 4,517 shares of the bank's stock worth $173,000 after acquiring an additional 4,452 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new position in First Financial during the first quarter valued at $175,000. CWM LLC increased its holdings in First Financial by 102.3% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,098 shares of the bank's stock valued at $188,000 after acquiring an additional 2,578 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in First Financial in the 4th quarter worth $233,000. 72.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on First Financial from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th.

First Financial Price Performance

Shares of THFF stock traded down $0.28 on Thursday, reaching $41.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 14,453 shares, compared to its average volume of 44,943. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $43.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.49. First Financial Co. has a 1 year low of $31.74 and a 1 year high of $47.00. The company has a market capitalization of $487.16 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.83 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.96. First Financial had a net margin of 18.22% and a return on equity of 9.95%. The firm had revenue of $70.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $51.95 million. Analysts forecast that First Financial Co. will post 4.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.36%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. First Financial's payout ratio is 38.38%.

First Financial Company 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.