First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $33.6667.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Truist Financial increased their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Stephens started coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday, March 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 target price for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Financial Bancorp.

In related news, CFO James M. Anderson sold 4,263 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $127,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 118,537 shares in the company, valued at $3,556,110. This trade represents a 3.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 10,000 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.93, for a total transaction of $309,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 243,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,539,434.94. This trade represents a 3.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,126 shares of company stock valued at $1,255,501. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 11.4% during the second quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 18,620 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $630,000 after purchasing an additional 1,907 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division boosted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 836,135 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,286,000 after purchasing an additional 14,763 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co of the South bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,952,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 29.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,236,781 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,481,000 after buying an additional 283,306 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 333,019 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,285,000 after buying an additional 24,654 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

Shares of FFBC stock opened at $34.23 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.10 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $31.80 and a 200 day moving average of $29.41. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52 week low of $23.06 and a 52 week high of $35.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.07. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 20.92% and a return on equity of 11.09%. The business had revenue of $265.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $257.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is 35.34%.

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.