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

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) had its price target lifted by research analysts at Hovde Group from $32.00 to $34.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the bank’s stock. Hovde Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 18.06% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on FFBC. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $28.00 price target (down previously from $30.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, October 27th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Zacks Research lowered First Financial Bancorp. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised First Financial Bancorp. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Financial Bancorp. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.00.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Up 5.9%

Shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock opened at $28.80 on Friday. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12-month low of $21.10 and a 12-month high of $29.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.84 billion, a PE ratio of 10.83 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $26.03 and its 200-day moving average is $25.32.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $251.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $249.00 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.99% and a net margin of 20.30%.During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.71 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 11,500 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.80, for a total transaction of $308,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 229,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,147,678.80. This trade represents a 4.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 55.0% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 97,727 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,441,000 after buying an additional 34,676 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 56,205 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,404,000 after acquiring an additional 2,458 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 3.9% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 589,799 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,733,000 after acquiring an additional 22,227 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 571.4% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,412 shares of the bank’s stock worth $185,000 after acquiring an additional 6,308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 6.0% during 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. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about First Financial Bancorp.

Here are the key news stories impacting First Financial Bancorp. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Record quarterly results and EPS beat — FFBC reported adjusted EPS of $0.80 (beat vs. consensus ~$0.78) and record adjusted revenue and noninterest income, driving a positive earnings narrative. Management highlighted strong margins and ROE/ROTCE improvements. First Financial Bancorp Announces Record Fourth Quarter, Full Year 2025 Financial Results and Quarterly Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Organic loan growth target and acquisition integration — Management laid out a 2026 organic loan growth target of 6%–8% and said integration of recent acquisitions (Westfield closed Nov. 1, BankFinancial closed Jan. 1) is advancing, which supports revenue and scale upside over the year. First Financial outlines 6%–8% organic loan growth target for 2026 as integration of acquisitions advances
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend declared — Board approved a quarterly dividend of $0.25/share (annualized yield around 3.6%), which supports income-oriented investor demand and reinforces confidence in capital/earnings stability. Press Release / Q4 Results (dividend mention)
• Neutral Sentiment: Strategic commentary and expected synergies — Management emphasized synergies and strategic benefits from acquisitions on the earnings call; these are positive long-term but will take time to materialize, leaving near-term impact mixed. First Financial Bancorp. Posts Record Earnings, Eyes Synergies
• Neutral Sentiment: Subordinated debt issuance — The company issued $300M of 6.375% subordinated debt to support capital post-acquisitions. That strengthens capital but is a relatively expensive funding item and modestly increases interest obligations. First Financial Bancorp Announces Record Fourth Quarter, Full Year 2025 Financial Results and Quarterly Dividend
• Negative Sentiment: Conflicting revenue headlines — Some outlets ran headlines saying FFBC missed Q4 revenue estimates, creating short-term headline-driven volatility despite company-reported adjusted revenue beating a roughly $249M consensus; this mixed messaging can pressure the stock briefly. First Financial Bancorp (NASDAQ:FFBC) Misses Q4 CY2025 Revenue Estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest note is non-informative — reports showed an increase claim but data appears effectively zero; no clear short-pressure signal for the stock. Earnings release / transcript

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.