First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Receives $33.67 Average PT from Analysts

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $33.6667.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on FFBC. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO James M. Anderson sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.73, for a total transaction of $134,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 114,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,863,333.01. The trade was a 3.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas O’Brien sold 16,088 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.77, for a total value of $527,203.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 30,392 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $995,945.84. This trade represents a 34.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 37,788 shares of company stock valued at $1,228,306 in the last three months. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 137.6% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 991 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 38.7% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,743 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co acquired a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. during the 4th quarter worth $50,000. Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. during the 2nd quarter worth $55,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the second quarter worth about $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of FFBC opened at $32.98 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $33.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.65 and a beta of 0.91. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52 week low of $23.06 and a 52 week high of $36.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $264.17 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $270.29 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 11.13% and a net margin of 20.77%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.74 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This is an increase from First Financial Bancorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.75%.

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.