First Financial Bankshares falls 3.5% because of third-quarter results

What happened

First Financial Bankshares (FFIN) fell 3.5% on October 16, 2026, because of third-quarter results, closing at $30.47. The stock opened 0.3% above the previous close and finished the session with trading volume that was 2.9 times its 20-day average. Zacks Investment Research and PRNewsWire reported third-quarter net income of $74.31 million, up from $52.27 million a year earlier, and diluted earnings per share of $0.52, which matched the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

How big was the move

The day’s decline was 3.2 times a typical daily move for this stock and was 3.5 percentage points worse than the Financial Services sector median, which was unchanged on the day. The S&P 500 fell 1.1% on the session; over the last five sessions the stock fell 1.0% while the S&P 500 fell 1.9%. Market sensitivity is moderate, with a beta of 0.78, so the stock tends to move less than the market.

The technical picture

The stock sat 3.7% below its 20-day moving average, 7.4% below its 50-day moving average and 6.4% below its 200-day moving average. The 50-day average is above the 200-day average, a sign of an established uptrend. The Relative Strength Index (14 days) read 33, inside a neutral range, and the shares were 16.6% below their 52-week high. Over the past month the stock fell 7.2% and over three months it fell 12.6%; over one year the stock fell 7.2% and trailed the S&P 500 by 22.0 percentage points.

In volatility terms, the stock’s 60-day annualized volatility was 17%, the lowest reading of the past five years. Over the past five years the stock had 38 sessions with a decline of at least 3.5%; twenty trading days later the median result was a decline of 0.3%, and 18 of 38 were higher.

Fundamentals and valuation

For the four quarters through September 30, 2026, revenue totaled $877.7 million, which grew 9.3% from a year earlier. Diluted earnings per share for that period were $2.03, up 20.1% year over year. Gross margin improved to 76.3% from 71.1% a year earlier, and operating margin rose to 40.5% from 36.9%. Return on invested capital measured 12.5%, and the balance sheet showed net cash of $113.9 million. Share count increased by 0.2% over the prior year.

On valuation, the stock traded at 15.0 times trailing earnings and 14.9 times expected earnings. Its price to trailing earnings is the lowest reading of the past five years, versus a five-year median of 21.9 times earnings. PromtFinance scores rank the company highly for Quality at 97 (Exceptional) and show Value at 67 (Positive), while Momentum and Revisions are weak at 22 and 11, respectively.

Earnings and analyst expectations

The company reported third-quarter net income of $74.31 million and diluted EPS of $0.52 on October 15, 2026, matching the Zacks Consensus Estimate and improving from $0.36 a year earlier, according to Zacks Investment Research and PRNewsWire. The last report showed EPS of $0.52 against $0.52 expected, 0.2% below estimates on that measure. The stock has recorded zero consecutive quarters beating estimates, although the average surprise over the last four reports was 2.8% above estimates. The typical two-day market reaction after recent reports has been a rise of 0.4%.

Analysts place a consensus price target of $35.33, which is 16.0% above the closing price on October 16, 2026, based on 16 analysts. No analysts rated the stock Buy, and the consensus rating is Hold.

What to watch

• October 22, 2026: Next scheduled earnings report date.
• Third-quarter report: net income $74.31 million and diluted EPS $0.52, matching the Zacks Consensus Estimate (reported October 15, 2026).
• Valuation: price to trailing earnings at 15.0 times, the lowest reading of the past five years.
• Technical: the stock is 3.7% below its 20-day moving average and 16.6% below its 52-week high.