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

Key Points

• First Financial Bancorp. has a “Moderate Buy” consensus from eight analysts, with four buy ratings and four hold ratings. The average 1-year price target is $33.00, above the stock’s recent trading level.
• Several analysts recently turned more positive on the stock, including Weiss Ratings and Wall Street Zen upgrading it to buy, while Hovde Group and Truist Financial also raised their price targets.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, equal to a $1.00 annualized payout and a 3.3% yield. Meanwhile, insiders sold shares recently, but institutional investors still own about 77.23% of the stock.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eight analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $33.00.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Hovde Group lifted their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised First Financial Bancorp. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th.

Insider Activity

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, CFO James M. Anderson sold 4,263 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $127,890.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 118,537 shares in the company, valued at $3,556,110. This trade represents a 3.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Claude E. Davis sold 26,123 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider directly owned 30,410 shares of the company's stock, valued at $925,984.50. This represents a 46.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,706 shares of company stock worth $932,372. Insiders own 1.08% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 574 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp raised its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 56.0% in the 4th 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. MAI Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 530.6% in the 3rd 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. grew its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 38.7% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,743 shares of the bank's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares during the period. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 4th quarter worth about $50,000. 77.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FFBC opened at $30.46 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The business's fifty day moving average price is $28.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.43. The stock has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a PE ratio of 10.76 and a beta of 0.94. First Financial Bancorp. has a one year low of $22.93 and a one year high of $31.38.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. First Financial Bancorp.'s payout ratio is 35.34%.

About First Financial Bancorp.

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.

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