First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $33.00.

A number of research firms have commented on FFBC. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $34.00 price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, April 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Truist Financial raised their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen cut First Financial Bancorp. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 14th. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday, March 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Financial Bancorp.

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.93, for a total value of $309,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 243,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,539,434.94. This trade represents a 3.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Claude E. Davis sold 26,123 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $925,984.50. The trade was a 46.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 41,126 shares of company stock worth $1,255,501. 1.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 137.6% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 991 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 56.0% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,526 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 548 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 530.6% during the third quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,545 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 38.7% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,743 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the fourth quarter valued at about $50,000. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

FFBC stock opened at $31.61 on Monday. First Financial Bancorp. has a twelve month low of $22.98 and a twelve month high of $32.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.17 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.47.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.34%.

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.