First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• First Financial Bancorp. has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with four analysts giving a buy rating and three a hold rating.
• The bank recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, which represents a dividend yield of 3.9%, up from the previous $0.24 dividend.
• During the last quarter, First Financial Bancorp. reported earnings of $0.74 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations and reflecting a growth from $0.64 EPS in the same period last year.

Shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seven research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $29.8333.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FFBC shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded First Financial Bancorp. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $28.00 price objective (up previously from $27.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Hovde Group began coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Monday. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

Shares of FFBC stock opened at $25.85 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a market cap of $2.48 billion, a PE ratio of 10.34 and a beta of 0.96. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $25.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.58. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52 week low of $21.10 and a 52 week high of $31.18.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.05. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 19.41% and a return on equity of 10.57%. The firm had revenue of $226.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $219.95 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. This is a positive change from First Financial Bancorp.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.'s payout ratio is presently 40.00%.

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bancorp.

In other news, Director Thomas Murray Obrien sold 7,383 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.54, for a total transaction of $195,944.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 46,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,233,579.20. This represents a 13.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 12,500 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.79, for a total transaction of $309,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 240,891 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,971,687.89. This trade represents a 4.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.13% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FFBC. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 58,585 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 4.0% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 10,923 shares of the bank's stock valued at $273,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 24.4% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the bank's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 43.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,522 shares of the bank's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC lifted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 9,041 shares of the bank's stock worth $226,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Financial Bancorp. Company Profile

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.

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