First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• First Financial Bancorp. received a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" from eight research firms, with four buy ratings and four hold ratings. The average 12-month price target is about $33.33.
• The company recently reported better-than-expected earnings, posting $0.77 EPS versus the $0.70 estimate and revenue of $265.3 million versus $257.97 million expected. Analysts still expect full-year EPS of 3.25.
• FFBC also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 2.9%. Insider selling was noted recently, including stock sales by the CFO and CEO.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the eight research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $33.3333.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FFBC. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday, March 27th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $33.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Up 1.9%

FFBC opened at $34.01 on Friday. First Financial Bancorp. has a one year low of $23.06 and a one year high of $35.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.57 billion, a PE ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 0.92. The business's 50 day moving average price is $31.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $265.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $257.97 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 20.92% and a return on equity of 11.09%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 3.25 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. First Financial Bancorp.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO James M. Anderson sold 4,263 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $127,890.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 118,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,556,110. This trade represents a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.93, for a total transaction of $309,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 243,758 shares in the company, valued at $7,539,434.94. This represents a 3.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 41,126 shares of company stock worth $1,255,501 in the last quarter. 1.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Financial Bancorp.

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 137.6% in 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 in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp boosted 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 valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 548 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 38.7% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,743 shares of the bank's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 4th quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 21.7% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,036 shares of the bank's stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 541 shares in the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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