First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Given Consensus Recommendation 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 been given an average rating of "Hold" by the five research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $29.40.

Several brokerages recently commented on FFBC. Hovde Group began coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 20th. 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. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $28.00 price target (up from $27.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday, June 27th.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock traded up $0.12 during trading on Friday, hitting $25.55. 495,411 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 418,564. The stock has a market cap of $2.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.22 and a beta of 1.02. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $25.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.51. 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 0.40, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $226.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, Director Thomas Murray Obrien sold 7,383 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director directly owned 46,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,233,579.20. The trade was a 13.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 shares were sold at an average price of $24.79, for a total transaction of $309,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 240,891 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,971,687.89. This represents a 4.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.13% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 43.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,522 shares of the bank's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 24.4% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the bank's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 75.4% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,102 shares of the bank's stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 1,333 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the first quarter worth about $78,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 36.5% during the first quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,570 shares of the bank's stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 954 shares during the period. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About First Financial Bancorp.

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.