First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Price Target Lowered to $30.00 at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) had its price objective dropped by equities research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $31.00 to $30.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "market perform" rating on the bank's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price target would indicate a potential upside of 25.00% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

FFBC stock traded up $0.66 during trading on Monday, reaching $24.00. 325,056 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 420,634. First Financial Bancorp. has a twelve month low of $20.59 and a twelve 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. The company has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.00 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50-day moving average of $24.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.50.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.63. The company had revenue of $201.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $214.80 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.52% and a net margin of 18.67%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bancorp.

In other news, insider James R. Shank sold 7,600 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.92, for a total transaction of $189,392.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,141 shares in the company, valued at $277,633.72. This trade represents a 40.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Financial Bancorp.

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 491,232 shares of the bank's stock worth $12,394,000 after buying an additional 20,449 shares during the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the fourth quarter valued at about $273,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,892,158 shares of the bank's stock valued at $292,781,000 after acquiring an additional 72,367 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,304,922 shares of the bank's stock worth $35,076,000 after purchasing an additional 22,573 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 82.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,150 shares of the bank's stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 2,333 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.