First Financial (US:THFF) ZACKS·2024-10-22 16:10Group 1: Earnings Performance - First Financial Corp. reported quarterly earnings of $0.74 per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.77 per share, and down from $1.37 per share a year ago, representing an earnings surprise of -3.90% [1] - The company posted revenues of $58.39 million for the quarter ended September 2024, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.76%, compared to year-ago revenues of $52.78 million [1] - Over the last four quarters, First Financial Corp. has not been able to surpass consensus EPS estimates, and it has topped consensus revenue estimates just once [1] Group 2: Stock Performance and Outlook - First Financial Corp. shares have lost about 1.2% since the beginning of the year, while the S&P 500 has gained 22.7% [2] - The company's earnings outlook is crucial for investors, as empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions [3] - The current consensus EPS estimate for the coming quarter is $1.20 on $58.2 million in revenues, and $3.85 on $215.15 million in revenues for the current fiscal year [4] Group 3: Industry Context - The Zacks Industry Rank for Banks - Midwest is currently in the top 26% of over 250 Zacks industries, indicating a favorable outlook for the industry [5] - Another bank in the same industry, First Merchants, is expected to report quarterly earnings of $0.91 per share, representing a year-over-year change of -3.2%, with revenues expected to be $160.55 million, down 0.4% from the year-ago quarter [5]