First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from five analyst firms, with an average twelve-month price target of $29.40.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.24 to $0.25, resulting in a dividend yield of 3.9%.
• Analysts anticipate First Financial Bancorp. will report an earnings per share of 2.64 for the current fiscal year.

Shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $29.40.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on FFBC shares. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Hovde Group started coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $28.00 price objective (up from $27.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 20th.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. in the 1st quarter valued at about $16,615,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 65.2% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 669,409 shares of the bank's stock worth $17,994,000 after acquiring an additional 264,083 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the first quarter worth approximately $5,714,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 110.5% in the second quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 324,852 shares of the bank's stock worth $7,881,000 after acquiring an additional 170,540 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,253,000. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

NASDAQ FFBC traded up $0.69 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $26.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 137,407 shares, compared to its average volume of 416,905. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company's 50-day moving average is $25.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.52. First Financial Bancorp. has a fifty-two week low of $21.10 and a fifty-two week high of $31.18. The stock has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a PE ratio of 10.49 and a beta of 1.02.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $226.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $219.95 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 19.41% and a return on equity of 10.57%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. This is a positive change from First Financial Bancorp.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. First Financial Bancorp.'s payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

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.