First Defiance Financial (NASDAQ:FDEF) was upgraded by BidaskClub from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Thursday, December 12th, BidAskClub reports.
FDEF has been the topic of a number of other reports. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of First Defiance Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Sandler O’Neill upgraded First Defiance Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th.
Shares of NASDAQ FDEF opened at $30.87 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.61. First Defiance Financial has a fifty-two week low of $22.78 and a fifty-two week high of $31.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $608.25 million, a PE ratio of 13.84 and a beta of 0.97.
First Defiance Financial (NASDAQ:FDEF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The savings and loans company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.08. First Defiance Financial had a return on equity of 12.03% and a net margin of 27.21%. The company had revenue of $40.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.15 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that First Defiance Financial will post 2.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
In other First Defiance Financial news, EVP Timothy K. Harris sold 2,831 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.51, for a total transaction of $89,204.81. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Donald P. Hileman sold 1,000 shares of First Defiance Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.02, for a total transaction of $30,020.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,531 shares of company stock worth $140,449 in the last quarter. 2.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FDEF. FMR LLC raised its position in First Defiance Financial by 347.5% during the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,544 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 1,199 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio grew its stake in First Defiance Financial by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 24,200 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $691,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management & Equity Research Inc. acquired a new position in First Defiance Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $260,000. Dupont Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of First Defiance Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $816,000. Finally, Aperio Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Defiance Financial by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Aperio Group LLC now owns 22,327 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $638,000 after purchasing an additional 1,391 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.40% of the company’s stock.
About First Defiance Financial
First Defiance Financial Corp. operates as a unitary thrift holding company that provides community-based financial services in northwest Ohio, northeast Indiana, and southeastern Michigan. It offers checking accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts, term certificate accounts, demand deposits, and certificates of deposits, as well as certificate of deposit account registry service; and commercial real estate, commercial, consumer finance, 1-4 family residential real estate, construction, and home equity and improvement loans.
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