First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $37.3333.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on FFIN. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of First Financial Bankshares in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of First Financial Bankshares from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Benchmark began coverage on shares of First Financial Bankshares in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating for the company.

First Financial Bankshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FFIN traded up $0.54 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $34.04. The stock had a trading volume of 1,127,677 shares, compared to its average volume of 815,200. First Financial Bankshares has a one year low of $28.11 and a one year high of $38.74. The company has a market cap of $4.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.50 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s 50 day moving average is $32.31 and its 200-day moving average is $31.70.

First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.03. First Financial Bankshares had a net margin of 31.00% and a return on equity of 14.20%. The firm had revenue of $166.89 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $166.78 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Financial Bankshares will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bankshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a positive change from First Financial Bankshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. First Financial Bankshares’s payout ratio is currently 47.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Financial Bankshares news, Director Murray Hamilton Edwards bought 1,000 shares of First Financial Bankshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $33.18 per share, for a total transaction of $33,180.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 44,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,480,956.12. This trade represents a 2.29% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FFIN. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in First Financial Bankshares by 3,042,660.3% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 21,512,315 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $642,573,000 after acquiring an additional 21,511,608 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in First Financial Bankshares by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,140,759 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $184,551,000 after acquiring an additional 87,988 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in First Financial Bankshares by 1.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,760,965 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $81,309,000 after acquiring an additional 45,052 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in First Financial Bankshares in the fourth quarter valued at $51,227,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in First Financial Bankshares by 4,145.8% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,709,631 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $51,067,000 after acquiring an additional 1,669,365 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.78% of the company’s stock.

About First Financial Bankshares

First Financial Bankshares, Inc is a regional bank holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Through its primary subsidiary, First Financial Bank, the company offers a full suite of banking products and services to individual, small business and commercial clients. With roots dating back to 1863, First Financial has cultivated a strong community banking heritage, combining personalized service with modern financial solutions.

The company’s core business activities include commercial and consumer lending, deposit products, treasury management, mortgage origination and servicing, and wealth management.