5 big analyst AI moves: Apple lifted to Buy, AI chip bets reassessed
Investing.com - Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW) lowered its price target on First Financial Bankshares (NASDAQ:FFIN) to $36.00 from $38.00 on Friday, while maintaining a Market Perform rating on the stock.
The price target reduction follows First Financial Bankshares’ third-quarter 2025 earnings miss, which KBW attributed to higher net charge-offs (NCOs) and loan loss provisions that could pressure the stock given recent investor sensitivity to credit metrics. Despite these challenges, the bank has maintained its dividend payments for 33 consecutive years, with a current yield of 2.41%.
Despite these concerns, KBW characterized the credit issues as isolated and highlighted that First Financial Bankshares still generated a return on assets of +1.4%, grew tangible book value, and demonstrated solid balance sheet growth during the quarter.
KBW actually raised its earnings estimates for First Financial Bankshares, citing a more resilient net interest margin and fee growth, with 2026 estimates moving to $1.95 per share and 2027 estimates to $2.07 per share.
First Financial Bankshares currently trades at 16.4 times KBW’s 2026 earnings estimate and 3 times tangible book value, according to the research firm’s analysis.
In other recent news, First Financial Bankshares has appointed Tim Brown as the new Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer. Brown will also serve as the CEO of the bank’s technology subsidiary, First Technology Services, Inc. This leadership change is part of the company’s succession planning efforts. The current Chief Information Officer, John Ruzicka, will transition to a newly created role as Chief Banking Operations Officer. In his new position, Ruzicka will oversee the bank’s backroom operations. These changes reflect the company’s strategic efforts to enhance its leadership team. First Financial Bankshares has not provided additional details on how these changes will impact their operations moving forward.
This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.