First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Hovde Group

Stock analysts at Hovde Group started coverage on shares of First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN) in a report issued on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm set a “market perform” rating and a $36.00 price target on the bank’s stock. Hovde Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 8.89% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of First Financial Bankshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 target price (up from $34.00) on shares of First Financial Bankshares in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of First Financial Bankshares in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $39.00 price target for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of First Financial Bankshares in a report on Thursday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Financial Bankshares currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.80.

First Financial Bankshares Stock Performance

Shares of FFIN opened at $33.06 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $34.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.68 and a beta of 0.81. First Financial Bankshares has a 52 week low of $28.11 and a 52 week high of $36.52.

First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.50. The company had revenue of $172.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $173.03 million. First Financial Bankshares had a net margin of 31.03% and a return on equity of 14.00%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.47 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that First Financial Bankshares will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Ronald David Butler II sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.95, for a total transaction of $524,250.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 152,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,320,193.85. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael B. Denny bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $34.66 per share, for a total transaction of $103,980.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 6,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $225,290. This represents a 85.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of 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 worth $642,573,000 after buying an additional 21,511,608 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in First Financial Bankshares by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,140,759 shares of the bank’s stock worth $184,551,000 after buying an additional 87,988 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in First Financial Bankshares by 3,690.2% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,094,400 shares of the bank’s stock worth $176,266,000 after acquiring an additional 4,959,991 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in First Financial Bankshares by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,760,965 shares of the bank’s stock worth $81,309,000 after acquiring an additional 45,052 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of First Financial Bankshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,227,000. 69.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About First Financial Bankshares

First Financial Bankshares, Inc is a Texas-based financial holding company headquartered in Abilene. Its principal subsidiary, First Financial Bank, provides banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, agricultural customers and public-sector organizations through a network of locations across Texas.

The company offers consumer and commercial deposit accounts, business and personal loans, mortgage lending, treasury and cash-management services, and online and mobile banking.