First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Reaches New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $35.01 and last traded at $34.8570, with a volume of 638166 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $34.23.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on FFBC. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday, March 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 price objective for the company. Four 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.67.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.78 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $32.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.55.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $265.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $257.97 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is currently 35.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, 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 transaction of $795,445.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 30,410 shares in the company, valued at $925,984.50. The trade was a 46.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO James M. Anderson sold 4,263 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $127,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 118,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,556,110. This represents a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 41,126 shares of company stock worth $1,255,501. Company insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FFBC. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 137.6% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 991 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp lifted its holdings 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 worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 548 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in 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 during the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co acquired a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 21.7% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,036 shares of the bank’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 541 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

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.