First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIN) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,960,000 shares, an increase of 5.2% from the November 30th total of 7,570,000 shares. Approximately 5.8% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 479,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 16.6 days.

First Financial Bankshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ FFIN opened at $35.57 on Friday. First Financial Bankshares has a twelve month low of $27.06 and a twelve month high of $44.66. The stock has a market cap of $5.08 billion, a PE ratio of 24.53 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.38.

First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39. The company had revenue of $142.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $140.25 million. First Financial Bankshares had a return on equity of 13.43% and a net margin of 28.76%. Research analysts forecast that First Financial Bankshares will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bankshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. First Financial Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is 49.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FFIN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Hovde Group increased their price target on shares of First Financial Bankshares from $34.50 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of First Financial Bankshares from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Stephens raised their target price on First Financial Bankshares from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on First Financial Bankshares from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Financial Bankshares news, CEO F Scott Dueser sold 25,000 shares of First Financial Bankshares stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.73, for a total transaction of $1,018,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 471,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,183,992.92. This trade represents a 5.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael B. Denny sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.12, for a total transaction of $287,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 101,085 shares in the company, valued at $4,156,615.20. This trade represents a 6.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 4.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Financial Bankshares

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quarry LP acquired a new position in First Financial Bankshares during the second quarter worth $83,000. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 32.2% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,369 shares of the bank’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 577 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in First Financial Bankshares in the 2nd quarter valued at $97,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in First Financial Bankshares in the second quarter worth about $118,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of First Financial Bankshares by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,637 shares of the bank’s stock worth $166,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. 69.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.