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First Financial Corp. (THFF) Surges 5.1%: Is This an Indication of Further Gains?

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First Financial Corp. (THFF - Free Report) shares soared 5.1% in the last trading session to close at $54.18. The move was backed by solid volume with far more shares changing hands than in a normal session. This compares to the stock's 11.8% loss over the past four weeks.

First Financial shares moved higher following the disclosure of a notable insider stock purchase by Director James McDonald, which boosted investors' confidence. Also, stock gained momentum amid optimism for stable regional bank earnings and improving sentiment toward smaller financial institutions following stronger-than-expected results from larger peers earlier in the earnings season.

This holding company for First Financial Bank is expected to post quarterly earnings of $1.61 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +117.6%. Revenues are expected to be $64.2 million, up 10% from the year-ago quarter.

While earnings and revenue growth expectations are important in evaluating the potential strength in a stock, empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.

For First Financial Corp., the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. And a stock's price usually doesn't keep moving higher in the absence of any trend in earnings estimate revisions. So, make sure to keep an eye on THFF going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>

First Financial Corp. belongs to the Zacks Banks - Midwest industry. Another stock from the same industry, Lakeland Financial (LKFN - Free Report) , closed the last trading session 1.7% higher at $60.77. Over the past month, LKFN has returned -8.8%.

For Lakeland Financial, the consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming report has remained unchanged over the past month at $1.02. This represents a change of +12.1% from what the company reported a year ago. Lakeland Financial currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).


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