First Financial Bancorp.'s (FFBC) Overweight Rating Reaffirmed at Stephens

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "overweight" rating reaffirmed by analysts at Stephens in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $29.00 price target on the bank's stock. Stephens' price objective would indicate a potential upside of 18.13% from the company's current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "hold" rating and a $27.00 target price for the company.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

Shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock opened at $24.55 on Friday. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52 week low of $21.10 and a 52 week high of $31.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a PE ratio of 10.19 and a beta of 0.97. The company's 50-day moving average price is $23.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.48.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 18.65% and a return on equity of 10.44%. The business had revenue of $201.59 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $214.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 3,493.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 38,020 shares of the bank's stock valued at $950,000 after purchasing an additional 36,962 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,892,158 shares of the bank's stock valued at $292,781,000 after buying an additional 72,367 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.8% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 53,747 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,445,000 after buying an additional 2,070 shares during the period. Finally, First Financial Bank Trust Division lifted its stake in 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.23% of the company's stock.

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.

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