First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.02 EPS

First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.02, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $129.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $129.72 million. First Financial Bankshares had a net margin of 31.28% and a return on equity of 14.53%. First Financial Bankshares’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share.

First Financial Bankshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FFIN opened at $29.19 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.57 and a beta of 0.82. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.81. First Financial Bankshares has a 12 month low of $22.84 and a 12 month high of $33.15.

First Financial Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. First Financial Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.43%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Financial Bankshares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FFIN. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 79,360 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,405,000 after buying an additional 1,704 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its stake in First Financial Bankshares by 30.3% in the 4th quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 55,806 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,691,000 after acquiring an additional 12,963 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in First Financial Bankshares by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 28,509 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $864,000 after acquiring an additional 3,782 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 203,410 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,163,000 after purchasing an additional 2,578 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 111.0% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 370,876 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,238,000 after purchasing an additional 195,137 shares during the last quarter. 69.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on FFIN. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of First Financial Bankshares from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of First Financial Bankshares from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on First Financial Bankshares from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, First Financial Bankshares currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.75.

First Financial Bankshares Company Profile

First Financial Bankshares, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides commercial banking products and services in Texas. The company offers checking, savings and time deposits; automated teller machines, drive-in, and night deposit services; safe deposit facilities, remote deposit capture, internet banking, mobile banking, payroll cards, funds transfer, and performing other customary commercial banking services; securities brokerage services; and trust and wealth management services, including wealth management, estates administration, oil and gas management, testamentary trusts, revocable and irrevocable trusts, and agency accounts.