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

Key Points

• Analysts rate First Financial Bancorp. a “Moderate Buy,” with four buy ratings and four holds; the average 12-month price target is $33.67.
• The bank reported quarterly EPS of $0.80, beating estimates by $0.02, while revenue rose 16.7% year over year to $264.17 million, slightly below expectations.
• First Financial increased its quarterly dividend to $0.26 per share, implying a 3.0% annual yield; insiders have sold 17,440 shares worth approximately $559,318 over the past 90 days.

Shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eight analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $33.6667.

FFBC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price 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 downgraded First Financial Bancorp. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Up 0.9%

NASDAQ FFBC opened at $34.14 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.29. The stock has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.06 and a beta of 0.92. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12-month low of $23.06 and a 12-month high of $36.24. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.02. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 20.77% and a return on equity of 11.13%. The firm had revenue of $264.17 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $270.29 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.74 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. This is a boost from First Financial Bancorp.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. First Financial Bancorp.'s payout ratio is 35.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Financial Bancorp.

In other news, CFO James M. Anderson sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.73, for a total value of $134,920.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 114,537 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,863,333.01. This represents a 3.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Scott T. Crawley sold 2,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.16, for a total transaction of $92,232.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 22,711 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $775,807.76. This trade represents a 10.63% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 17,440 shares of company stock worth $559,318. Company insiders own 1.08% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings 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 worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp lifted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 56.0% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,526 shares of the bank's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 548 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 38.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co purchased a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,309 shares of the bank's stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.23% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source