Martingale Asset Management L P Boosts Stake in First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF)

Martingale Asset Management L P lifted its position in First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,845 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,210 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings in First Financial were worth $2,010,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of First Financial by 7.3% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 19,857 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $762,000 after purchasing an additional 1,359 shares during the period. Comerica Bank raised its position in First Financial by 6,849.2% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 4,517 shares of the bank’s stock worth $173,000 after buying an additional 4,452 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in First Financial during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $665,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial in the first quarter worth $175,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Financial by 102.3% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,098 shares of the bank’s stock worth $188,000 after purchasing an additional 2,578 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.74% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:THFF opened at $48.84 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $45.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.03. The firm has a market cap of $576.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.24 and a beta of 0.47. 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 one year low of $34.58 and a one year high of $51.87.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.91 by ($0.17). First Financial had a return on equity of 8.10% and a net margin of 14.86%. The company had revenue of $82.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.95 million. Research analysts expect that First Financial Co. will post 3.92 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. First Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.78%.

About First Financial

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.