First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.24

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, January 28th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of 0.24 per share by the bank on Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%.

First Financial Bancorp. has raised its dividend by an average of 0.7% annually over the last three years. First Financial Bancorp. has a dividend payout ratio of 36.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect First Financial Bancorp. to earn $2.51 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.96 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 38.2%.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of FFBC traded down $0.50 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $27.73. The stock had a trading volume of 576,025 shares, compared to its average volume of 474,279. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.58. The firm has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.95 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. First Financial Bancorp. has a fifty-two week low of $20.59 and a fifty-two week high of $31.18.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.06. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 18.55% and a return on equity of 10.32%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.52 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bancorp.

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 4,068 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.01, for a total value of $122,080.68. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 70,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,120,266.52. This represents a 5.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider James R. Shank sold 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.34, for a total value of $97,458.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $404,951.16. This trade represents a 19.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,700 shares of company stock valued at $335,429. 2.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday.

First Financial Bancorp. Company Profile

First Financial Bancorp. operates as the bank holding company for First Financial Bank that provides commercial banking and related services to individuals and businesses in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois. The company offers checking, savings, and money-market accounts; and accepts various deposit products, such as interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing accounts, time deposits, and cash management services for commercial customers.