Creative Planning Raises Holdings in First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF)

Creative Planning boosted its holdings in First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF - Free Report) by 57.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 47,665 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 17,322 shares during the period. Creative Planning owned 0.40% of First Financial worth $2,090,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in THFF. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in First Financial by 1.8% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 18,726 shares of the bank's stock worth $691,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in First Financial by 6.0% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 7,043 shares of the bank's stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in First Financial by 9.2% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 7,313 shares of the bank's stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its stake in First Financial by 4.2% during the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 16,854 shares of the bank's stock worth $622,000 after purchasing an additional 680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC raised its stake in shares of First Financial by 9.2% in the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 14,106 shares of the bank's stock valued at $520,000 after acquiring an additional 1,188 shares in the last quarter. 72.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on First Financial from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th.

First Financial Stock Up 3.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ THFF traded up $1.37 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $43.49. The company had a trading volume of 120,557 shares, compared to its average volume of 44,425. The company has a market capitalization of $513.62 million, a PE ratio of 11.79 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. First Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $33.55 and a 1-year high of $47.00. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $43.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.19.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.91 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $82.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.95 million. First Financial had a net margin of 14.86% and a return on equity of 8.25%. On average, analysts predict that First Financial Co. will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. First Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.78%.

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.