First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $31.06 and last traded at $31.1420, with a volume of 73999 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.90.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on FFBC shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $28.00 price target (down from $30.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Hovde Group increased their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.50.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.58 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $26.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.63.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $251.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $249.00 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.77% and a net margin of 20.30%.During the same period last year, the company earned $0.71 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is currently 37.59%.

Insider Activity at First Financial Bancorp.

In other news, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.20, for a total value of $604,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 61,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,051.20. The trade was a 24.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 11,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.80, for a total transaction of $308,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 229,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,147,678.80. The trade was a 4.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 44,821 shares of company stock worth $1,273,992 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,309 shares of the bank’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 21.3% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,670 shares of the bank’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,903 shares of the bank’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 28,308 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $715,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 38.7% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,743 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares during the period. 77.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Financial Bancorp. Company Profile

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.