First Financial Corporation Indiana (NASDAQ:THFF) Raised to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

First Financial Corporation Indiana (NASDAQ:THFF) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on THFF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on First Financial Corporation Indiana from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of First Financial Corporation Indiana from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Financial Corporation Indiana in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.00.

First Financial Corporation Indiana Stock Performance

Shares of First Financial Corporation Indiana stock remained flat at $56.76 during trading on Thursday. 52,408 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 61,446. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $55.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $672.66 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.10 and a beta of 0.46. First Financial Corporation Indiana has a 52-week low of $42.05 and a 52-week high of $63.04.

First Financial Corporation Indiana (NASDAQ:THFF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The bank reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $65.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.53 million. First Financial Corporation Indiana had a return on equity of 12.99% and a net margin of 21.70%. As a group, equities analysts expect that First Financial Corporation Indiana will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at First Financial Corporation Indiana

In related news, Director James O. Mcdonald bought 2,295 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $52.25 per share, for a total transaction of $119,913.75. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 11,757 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $614,303.25. The trade was a 24.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 3.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in First Financial Corporation Indiana by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 794,984 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,869,000 after purchasing an additional 39,046 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Corp IN increased its stake in shares of First Financial Corporation Indiana by 5.5% during the third quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 619,115 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,943,000 after buying an additional 32,553 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of First Financial Corporation Indiana by 2.7% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 394,733 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $21,391,000 after acquiring an additional 10,421 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in First Financial Corporation Indiana by 304.4% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 380,492 shares of the bank’s stock worth $18,636,000 after acquiring an additional 286,409 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in First Financial Corporation Indiana by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 316,726 shares of the bank’s stock worth $17,876,000 after acquiring an additional 31,992 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.74% of the company’s stock.

About First Financial Corporation Indiana

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.