First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• First Financial Bancorp. has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from eight analysts, split evenly between buy and hold recommendations. The average 12-month price target is $33.67.
• The bank exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.80 EPS versus the $0.78 consensus, while revenue rose 16.7% year over year but fell short of estimates. It also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.26, producing a 3.3% annualized yield.
• FFBC insiders sold 27,788 shares worth approximately $919,000 over the past 90 days, while institutional investors own a substantial 77.23% of the company.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eight research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $33.6667.

FFBC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered First Financial Bancorp. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Truist Financial upped their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday, September 4th.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

FFBC stock opened at $31.33 on Wednesday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $33.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.37. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12-month low of $23.06 and a 12-month high of $36.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $264.17 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $270.29 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 20.77% and a return on equity of 11.13%. First Financial Bancorp.'s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were issued a $0.26 dividend. This is a boost from First Financial Bancorp.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. First Financial Bancorp.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.75%.

Insider Activity at First Financial Bancorp.

In other news, insider Scott T. Crawley sold 2,700 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.16, for a total transaction of $92,232.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 22,711 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $775,807.76. The trade was a 10.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO James Anderson sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.73, for a total transaction of $134,920.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 114,537 shares in the company, valued at $3,863,333.01. This represents a 3.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 27,788 shares of company stock valued at $919,006. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in 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 in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 486 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 2nd quarter valued at $47,000. Smithfield Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the 2nd quarter worth about $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.23% of the company's stock.

About First Financial Bancorp.

First Financial Bancorp. is a bank holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Through its principal subsidiary, First Financial Bank, the company provides banking and financial services to businesses, individuals, and community organizations.

First Financial Bank offers commercial and retail banking products, including business loans, commercial real estate financing, consumer lending, residential mortgage services, deposit accounts, treasury management, and online and mobile banking.

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