Stephens Reiterates Overweight Rating for First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "overweight" rating restated by investment analysts at Stephens in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $29.00 price objective on the bank's stock. Stephens' price objective would indicate a potential upside of 19.54% from the company's current price.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on FFBC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on 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. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "hold" rating and a $27.00 price target on the stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

Shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock traded down $0.09 on Friday, hitting $24.26. The stock had a trading volume of 463,224 shares, compared to its average volume of 418,433. The stock has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.07 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. First Financial Bancorp. has a twelve month low of $21.10 and a twelve month high of $31.18. The business's 50 day moving average is $23.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.40.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63. The firm had revenue of $201.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $214.80 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 18.65% and a return on equity of 10.44%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. Analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,892,158 shares of the bank's stock worth $292,781,000 after purchasing an additional 72,367 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 16.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,362,436 shares of the bank's stock worth $36,622,000 after buying an additional 189,715 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,304,922 shares of the bank's stock valued at $35,076,000 after buying an additional 22,573 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 38.3% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,186,286 shares of the bank's stock worth $31,887,000 after acquiring an additional 328,788 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Bank Trust Division grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 893,713 shares of the bank's stock worth $22,325,000 after acquiring an additional 24,690 shares in the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is 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.