First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Raises Dividend to $0.25 Per Share

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, July 24th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of 0.25 per share by the bank on Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.19%. This is a 4.2% increase from First Financial Bancorp.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24.

First Financial Bancorp. has a dividend payout ratio of 34.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect First Financial Bancorp. to earn $2.77 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.96 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 34.7%.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:FFBC traded down $0.48 during trading on Thursday, reaching $23.84. 416,836 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 407,738. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a PE ratio of 9.89 and a beta of 0.96. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $24.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.16. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12-month low of $21.10 and a 12-month high of $31.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.05. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 18.65%. On average, research analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $28.75.

Institutional Trading of First Financial Bancorp.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FFBC. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 571.4% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,412 shares of the bank's stock worth $185,000 after acquiring an additional 6,308 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 56,205 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,404,000 after acquiring an additional 2,458 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 55.0% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 97,727 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,441,000 after buying an additional 34,676 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the first quarter valued at $5,714,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 6.0% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 318,298 shares of the bank's stock valued at $7,951,000 after buying an additional 17,911 shares in 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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