First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.08 EPS

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The bank reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.08, Zacks reports. First Financial had a net margin of 14.86% and a return on equity of 8.10%.

First Financial Trading Up 4.0 %

Shares of THFF stock opened at $52.00 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $614.12 million, a P/E ratio of 14.09 and a beta of 0.50. First Financial has a 1 year low of $34.58 and a 1 year high of $52.00. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

First Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were paid a $0.51 dividend. This is an increase from First Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.92%. First Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Raymond James upgraded shares of First Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $54.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th.

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.