First Financial Co. (THFF) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.45 on October 15th

First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, September 19th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be given a dividend of 0.45 per share by the bank on Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st.

First Financial has raised its dividend payment by an average of 13.7% per year over the last three years. First Financial has a payout ratio of 35.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect First Financial to earn $5.10 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 35.3%.

First Financial Trading Down 4.9 %

NASDAQ:THFF opened at $44.18 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $521.94 million, a P/E ratio of 9.42 and a beta of 0.47. First Financial has a 1 year low of $31.74 and a 1 year high of $47.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $43.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.17.

First Financial (NASDAQ:THFF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.96. First Financial had a return on equity of 9.95% and a net margin of 18.22%. The business had revenue of $70.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $51.95 million. As a group, analysts expect that First Financial will post 4.39 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of First Financial from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th.

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.