Truist Financial Issues Positive Forecast for First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Stock Price

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) had its price target increased by Truist Financial from $33.00 to $35.00 in a report published on Friday morning, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the bank’s stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on FFBC. Stephens began coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday, March 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered First Financial Bancorp. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target 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, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, June 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.67.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of FFBC traded up $0.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $34.47. The company had a trading volume of 763,894 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,004,370. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1-year low of $23.06 and a 1-year high of $35.00. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.27. The stock has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a PE ratio of 12.18 and a beta of 0.92. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.07. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 11.09% and a net margin of 20.92%.The company had revenue of $265.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $257.97 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO James M. Anderson sold 4,263 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $127,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 118,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,556,110. The trade was a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Claude E. Davis sold 26,123 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.45, for a total value of $795,445.35. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $925,984.50. This trade represents a 46.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 41,126 shares of company stock worth $1,255,501. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FFBC. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 55.0% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 97,727 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,441,000 after purchasing an additional 34,676 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 56,205 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,404,000 after acquiring an additional 2,458 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 589,799 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,733,000 after purchasing an additional 22,227 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 571.4% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,412 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $185,000 after purchasing an additional 6,308 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 318,298 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,951,000 after purchasing an additional 17,911 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

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.