First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Announces Earnings Results

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The bank reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.02, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $251.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $249.00 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 20.64%.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of FFBC traded down $0.09 on Wednesday, hitting $27.20. 1,871,662 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,121,340. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. First Financial Bancorp. has a one year low of $21.10 and a one year high of $29.21. The company has a market capitalization of $2.68 billion, a PE ratio of 10.07 and a beta of 0.99.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 11,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.80, for a total transaction of $308,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 229,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,147,678.80. This trade represents a 4.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 571.4% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,412 shares of the bank’s stock worth $185,000 after buying an additional 6,308 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the third quarter valued at $226,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the 3rd quarter worth about $257,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 38.6% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 10,823 shares of the bank’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 3,013 shares during the period. Finally, Numerai GP LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 3rd quarter worth about $265,000. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FFBC shares. Hovde Group started coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Monday, October 6th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded First Financial Bancorp. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $28.00 target price (down previously from $30.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Zacks Research cut First Financial Bancorp. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.50.

About First Financial Bancorp.

First Financial Bancorp (NASDAQ: FFBC) is a bank holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the parent of First Financial Bank. The company provides a comprehensive suite of commercial and consumer banking services through a network of more than 100 full-service banking centers and mortgage offices across Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. Its core mission centers on delivering personalized relationship banking to businesses, individuals and public sector clients.

First Financial Bank’s product portfolio includes deposit solutions such as checking, savings and money market accounts, alongside a range of lending offerings that cover commercial and industrial loans, real estate and construction financing, home mortgages and home equity lines of credit.