First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN) Short Interest Update

First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN) was the target of a large drop in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,460,000 shares, a drop of 6.3% from the December 15th total of 7,960,000 shares. Currently, 5.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 492,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 15.2 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FFIN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on First Financial Bankshares from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Hovde Group boosted their target price on shares of First Financial Bankshares from $34.50 to $40.00 and gave the company 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 report on Friday, October 18th.

First Financial Bankshares Price Performance

Shares of FFIN stock traded up $0.23 on Friday, reaching $37.02. 364,853 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 483,273. First Financial Bankshares has a one year low of $27.62 and a one year high of $44.66. The company has a market cap of $5.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.53 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50-day moving average of $38.99 and a 200-day moving average of $37.01.

First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.39. First Financial Bankshares had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 13.43%. The business had revenue of $142.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $140.25 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First Financial Bankshares will post 1.52 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. First Financial Bankshares’s payout ratio is presently 49.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Financial Bankshares news, CEO F Scott Dueser sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.73, for a total value of $1,018,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 471,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,183,992.92. This represents a 5.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michael B. Denny sold 7,000 shares of First Financial Bankshares stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.12, for a total value of $287,840.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 101,085 shares in the company, valued at $4,156,615.20. The trade was a 6.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Financial Bankshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in First Financial Bankshares by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 12,665 shares of the bank’s stock worth $457,000 after buying an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in First Financial Bankshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $603,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 39.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 461,726 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $17,088,000 after acquiring an additional 131,063 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in First Financial Bankshares by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 113,607 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,205,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,361,921 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $124,446,000 after purchasing an additional 249,011 shares during the last quarter. 69.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.