First Financial Bankshares, Inc. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.18 (NASDAQ:FFIN)

First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, February 3rd,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of 0.18 per share by the bank on Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th.

First Financial Bankshares has increased its dividend by an average of 7.5% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 14 years. First Financial Bankshares has a payout ratio of 39.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect First Financial Bankshares to earn $1.88 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.72 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 38.3%.

First Financial Bankshares Price Performance

Shares of First Financial Bankshares stock traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $36.95. 278,516 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 508,483. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.53. The firm has a market cap of $5.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.69 and a beta of 0.83. First Financial Bankshares has a 52 week low of $27.62 and a 52 week high of $44.66.

First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.03. First Financial Bankshares had a return on equity of 14.24% and a net margin of 29.69%. Equities research analysts expect that First Financial Bankshares will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Financial Bankshares

In related news, CEO F Scott Dueser sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.73, for a total value of $1,018,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 471,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,183,992.92. This trade represents a 5.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael B. Denny sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.12, for a total transaction of $287,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 101,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,156,615.20. This trade represents a 6.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 4.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of First Financial Bankshares from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Hovde Group boosted their target price on First Financial Bankshares from $34.50 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on First Financial Bankshares from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th.

First Financial Bankshares Company Profile

First Financial Bankshares, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides commercial banking products and services in Texas. The company offers checking, savings and time deposits; automated teller machines, drive-in, and night deposit services; safe deposit facilities, remote deposit capture, internet banking, mobile banking, payroll cards, funds transfer, and performing other customary commercial banking services; securities brokerage services; and trust and wealth management services, including wealth management, estates administration, oil and gas management, testamentary trusts, revocable and irrevocable trusts, and agency accounts.