October 10, 2024
Top 10 Stock First Financial Buy Recommendation
How to read the ranks
For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".
Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".
Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.
Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.
(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).
(NEW) 360° View - the ultimate rating with all financial and non-financial indicators.
Snapshot: First Financial – Top 10 Stock in Sound Pay Practices in the United States
First Financial is listed as a top 10 stock on October 10, 2024 in the market index Sound Pay USA because of its high performance in at least one of the Obermatt investment strategies. While half the consolidated Obermatt Ranks are above-average, investor sentiment is negative and growth performance is below market average, both a sign for caution. Based on the Obermatt 360° View of 55 (high 55% performer), Obermatt assesses an overall buy recommendation for First Financial on October 10, 2024.
Snapshot: Obermatt Ranks
| Country | USA |
| Industry | Regional Banks |
| Index | Sound Pay USA, NASDAQ |
| Size class | XX-Large |
When Obermatt identifies the Top 10 stocks in a market, it’s based on a certain investment strategy. The best performing stocks usually aren’t the ones that everyone is talking about (those are often "over-priced" and have low Value ranks).
For each investment strategy, we provide you with more detailed analysis and our recommendation. You see the ranks of the top 10 stocks ranked by that particular investment strategy (360° View, Sentiment, Value, Growth, Safety and Combined Financial Performance).
360° View: Obermatt 360° View First Financial Buy
| 360 METRICS | October 10, 2024 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 99 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 27 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 69 |
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| SENTIMENT | ||||||||
| SENTIMENT | 19 |
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| 360° VIEW | ||||||||
| 360° VIEW | 55 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt 360° View of 55 (better than 55% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and financial characteristics for the stock First Financial are above average. The 360° View is based on consolidating four consolidated indicators, with half the metrics below and half above average for First Financial. The consolidated Value Rank has an attractive rank of 99, which means that the share price of First Financial is on the lower side compared with the typical size in indicators such as revenues, profits, and invested capital. This means the stock price is lower than for 99% of alternative stocks in the same industry. The company is also safely financed with a Safety rank of 69. But the professional market sentiment is below average compared with other stock investment alternatives with a Sentiment Rank of 19. Professional investors are more confident in 81% other stocks. The consolidated Growth Rank also has a low rank of 27, which means that the company is below average in terms of growth momentum when looking at financial metrics such as revenue, profit, invested capital growth, and stock returns. 73 of its competitors have better growth. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated 360° View of 55, First Financial is better positioned than 55% of all alternative stock investment opportunities based on the Obermatt Method. The picture is mixed here. The stock seems to be a good value (Value Rank of 99), and the financing structure is on the safer side (Safety Rank of 69). However, sentiment in the professional investor community is below-average (Sentiment Rank of 19), as is the growth momentum for the company (Growth Rank of 27). Since the company is good value and the share price low, it should attract investors, yet professionals are skeptical. Even though the financing structure is not as important as Value, Growth, and Sentiment, investors should still be careful with this decision and conduct further research if they are serious about investing in this company. ...read more
Sentiment Strategy: Professional Market Sentiment for First Financial negative
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Sentiment Rank of 19 (better than 19% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and engagement for the stock First Financial is critical, mostly below average. The Sentiment Rank is based on consolidating four sentiment indicators, with three out of four metrics below average for First Financial. Analyst Opinions are at a rank of 28 (worse than 72% of alternative investments), which means that currently, stock research analysts tend to warn against investing in the stock of the company. But they are changing their opinions! Analyst Opinions Change has a rank of 50, which means that stock research experts have found something to make them more positive about investing in the company. In other words, they are getting more optimistic of stock investments in First Financial. But the Professional Investors rank is low at 49, which means that professional investors hold less stock in this company than in 51% of alternative investment opportunities. Pros tend to invest in other companies. Market Pulse is also low at a rank of 20, which means that the current professional news and professional social networks tend to be negative when discussing this company (more negative news than for 80% of competitors). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Sentiment Rank of 19 (less encouraging than 81% compared with investment alternatives), First Financial has a reputation among professional investors that is far below that of its competitors. These are quite a few negative sentiment signals. One may want to trust the analysts that are changing their opinions. They may be early indications of better times, especially if the company is a smaller one. But If they are an extra large company, they should have more professional stockholders than are currently present. ...read more
Value Strategy: First Financial Stock Price Value at the top
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 99 (better than 99% compared with alternatives) for 2024, First Financial shares are significantly less expensive than comparable stocks. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators that are all above average for First Financial. Price-to-Sales is 92 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future sales is lower than for 92% of comparable companies, indicating a good value for First Financial's revenue size. The same is valid for expected Price-to-Profits, more favorable than for 94% of alternatives, and this is also true for the Price-to-Book capital ratio (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Capital Rank of 74. Compared with other companies in the same industry, dividend yields of First Financial are expected to be higher than for 87% of all competitors (a Dividend Yield rank of 87). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 99, is a buy recommendation based on First Financial's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. Since all value metrics are above the industry average, there is no objection to investing in First Financial based on its detailed value metrics.
Growth Strategy: First Financial Growth Momentum low
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 27 (better than 27% compared with alternatives), First Financial shows a below-average growth dynamic in its industry. There is limited momentum in this company. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for First Financial. Sales Growth has a rank of 71 which means that currently, professionals expect the company to grow more than 71% of its competitors. Capital Growth is also above 22% of competitors with a rank of 57. But Profit Growth only has a rank of 22, which means that currently professionals expect the company to grow its profits less than 78% of its competitors. And Stock Returns have also been below average with a rank of only 25. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 27, is a hold recommendation for growth and momentum investors. Profits are sometimes low if the company invests in the future. The positive revenue and capital investment outlook confirms such an interpretation. Both revenues and capital are solid growth indicators, and lower profits in such a case would be encouraging. But the investors see it differently by punishing the share price. Sometimes, Mister Market is not very reliable, because it is not uncommon for it to be volatile. Investors should look out for signs of growth expenditure that could justify low profit growth, and they may also find reasons why recent stock price developments don't confirm the growth outlook of operations. While operating growth indicators are not perfect, they are more reliable indicators for future performance than stock prices that can repeatedly surprise investors. ...read more
Safety Strategy: First Financial Debt Financing Safety above-average
| SAFETY METRICS | October 10, 2024 | |||||||
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| LEVERAGE | ||||||||
| LEVERAGE | 70 |
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| REFINANCING | ||||||||
| REFINANCING | 20 |
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| LIQUIDITY | ||||||||
| LIQUIDITY | 79 |
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| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | 69 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 69 (better than 69% compared with alternatives), the company First Financial has financing practices on the safer side, which mean that their overall debt burden is lower than average. This doesn't mean that the business of First Financial is safe, it only means that the company is on the safer side regarding possible bankruptcy, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with two out of three indicators above average for First Financial. Leverage is at a rank of 70, meaning the company has a below-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has less debt than 70% of its competitors. Liquidity is also good at a rank of 79, meaning the company generates more profit to service its debt than 79% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is on the safer side when it comes to debt service. But Refinancing is lower at a rank of 20, which means that the portion of the debt that is about to be refinanced is above-average. It has more debt in the refinancing stage than 80% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 69 (better than 69% compared with alternatives), First Financial has a financing structure that is safer than that of its competitors. The refinancing issues could be a short-term problem, especially if the company has reputation issues. Banks and investors don't like to refinance debt if there are clouds on the horizon. For this reason, investors should look at the refinancing environment for First Financial. Does it look safe that debt that is coming due can be covered with new debt? If that is the case, then the financing situation of the company is on the safer side. If not, it may be better to wait until refinancing has been completed and the Refinancing rank is good again. ...read more
Combined financial peformance: First Financial Top Financial Performance
| COMBINED PERFORMANCE | October 10, 2024 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 99 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 27 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 79 |
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| COMBINED | ||||||||
| COMBINED | 85 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 85 (better than 85% compared with investment alternatives), First Financial (Regional Banks, USA) shares have much better financial characteristics than comparable stocks. Shares of First Financial are a good value (attractively priced) with a consolidated Value Rank of 99 (better than 99% of alternatives), are safely financed (Safety Rank of 69, which means low debt burdens), but show below-average growth (Growth Rank of 27). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 85, is a strong buy recommendation based on First Financial's financial characteristics. As the company First Financial's key financial metrics exhibit good value (Obermatt Value Rank of 99) but low growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 27) while being safely financed (Obermatt Safety Rank of 69), it may be a safer investment because companies with low debt can better withstand times of crises. Yet the good value, better than 99% of comparable companies, may also indicate that the company's future is challenging. If you believe that low growth is temporary or just due to a specific current event, you may conclude that the good value of the stock provides an attractive investment opportunity and the downside is limited due to below-average financing risks. ...read more
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