Short Interest in First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) Declines By 16.4%

First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) has seen a notable decrease in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, the short interest totaled 52,100 shares, reflecting a decline of 16.4% compared to 62,300 shares reported at the end of December. This adjustment has resulted in a short-interest ratio of 1.0 days, based on an average daily trading volume of 50,300 shares. Currently, approximately 0.5% of the company’s shares are sold short.

First Financial Stock Performance

On Friday, the stock of First Financial traded up by $0.20, reaching $48.19. The trading volume for the day was 45,047 shares, slightly less than the average of 47,477 shares. Over the last fifty days, the simple moving average for the stock stands at $47.51, while the 200-day simple moving average is $45.20. The stock has experienced a 52-week low of $34.58 and a 52-week high of $51.87. It holds a market capitalization of $569.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.06, and a beta of 0.51. Financial ratios show a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79, and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

First Financial Increases Dividend

Recently, First Financial declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid out on January 15th. Shareholders on record as of January 3rd received a dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date was also January 3rd. This marks an increase from the previous quarterly dividend of $0.45, leading to an annualized dividend of $2.04 and a yield of 4.23%. The company's dividend payout ratio is 55.28%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Financial

Several large institutional investors have recently made changes to their holdings of First Financial. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake valued at about $25,000 in the fourth quarter. R Squared Ltd added a position worth approximately $73,000 during the same period. FMR LLC significantly increased its holdings by 420.3% in the third quarter, owning 3,918 shares valued at $172,000 after acquiring an additional 3,165 shares. Janus Henderson Group PLC also established a new position in the third quarter at roughly $230,000. Lastly, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. added a position valued around $279,000 in the third quarter. Overall, institutional investors now hold 72.74% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

In recent news, Raymond James has upgraded First Financial’s rating from “market perform” to “outperform” in a research report published on December 19th, with a target price set at $54.00.

First Financial Company Profile

First Financial Corporation provides a variety of financial services through its subsidiaries. The company offers a range of deposit services including non-interest-bearing demand, interest-bearing demand, savings, and time deposits. It also provides commercial loans for business expansion or asset purchases, residential real estate loans, construction loans, and home equity lines among other credit solutions.

Short, Interest, Financial