First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Rating Lowered to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday, June 27th. Truist Financial began coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "hold" rating and a $27.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Financial Bancorp. currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $28.75.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

First Financial Bancorp. stock traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $25.45. 280,776 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 419,793. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52 week low of $21.10 and a 52 week high of $31.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $2.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.56 and a beta of 0.96. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $24.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.27.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 18.65%. The company had revenue of $201.59 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $214.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.59 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.83%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FFBC. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 43.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,522 shares of the bank's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 24.4% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the bank's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 68.9% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,502 shares of the bank's stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 1,021 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the first quarter worth $78,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 807.3% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,976 shares of the bank's stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 2,648 shares in the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About First Financial Bancorp.

First Financial Bancorp. operates as the bank holding company for First Financial Bank that provides commercial banking and related services to individuals and businesses in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois. The company offers checking, savings, and money-market accounts; and accepts various deposit products, such as interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing accounts, time deposits, and cash management services for commercial customers.