Marks Group Wealth Management Inc Sells 625 Shares of First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF)

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc cut its stake in shares of First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,684 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 625 shares during the period. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc owned about 0.20% of First Financial worth $1,094,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of THFF. Dean Investment Associates LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Financial in the third quarter valued at about $2,856,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in First Financial by 81.2% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 73,144 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,698,000 after purchasing an additional 32,783 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in First Financial by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 230,332 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $10,100,000 after buying an additional 22,287 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted 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 buying an additional 17,322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of First Financial by 62.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 37,457 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,643,000 after buying an additional 14,349 shares during the last quarter. 72.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on THFF. Raymond James raised First Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $54.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $55.00 target price (up from $52.00) on shares of First Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 6th.

First Financial Stock Down 2.8 %

THFF opened at $52.03 on Thursday. First Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $34.58 and a twelve month high of $53.60. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $47.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.58. The stock has a market cap of $614.47 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.01 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

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

First Financial Increases Dividend

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

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.