Legato Capital Management LLC Increases Stake in First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF)

Legato Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,447 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 904 shares during the period. Legato Capital Management LLC owned about 0.22% of First Financial worth $1,222,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Financial by 81.2% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 73,144 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,698,000 after purchasing an additional 32,783 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in First Financial by 23.0% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,409 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $544,000 after buying an additional 2,323 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in First Financial by 29.4% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,599 shares of the bank’s stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 1,501 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of First Financial by 57.1% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 47,665 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,090,000 after acquiring an additional 17,322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Financial by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 45,854 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,990,000 after acquiring an additional 2,278 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.74% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Stock Down 2.8 %

First Financial stock opened at $52.03 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $614.47 million, a P/E ratio of 13.01 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. First Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $34.58 and a fifty-two week high of $53.60. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.58.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The bank reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.08. First Financial had a return on equity of 8.77% and a net margin of 15.37%. Equities research analysts expect that First Financial Co. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.92%. This is a boost from First Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. First Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on THFF shares. Raymond James upgraded 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 target price (up previously from $52.00) on shares of First Financial in a report on Thursday, February 6th.

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.