Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Has Lowered Expectations for First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Stock Price

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by investment analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $31.00 to $30.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "market perform" rating on the bank's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' target price suggests a potential upside of 30.83% from the stock's current price.

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

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FFBC traded up $0.00 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $22.93. The company had a trading volume of 69,397 shares, compared to its average volume of 417,515. First Financial Bancorp. has a one year low of $20.59 and a one year 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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.53 and a beta of 0.85. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $24.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.58.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.63. The firm had revenue of $201.59 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $214.80 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 18.67% and a return on equity of 10.52%. Equities research analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider James R. Shank sold 7,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.92, for a total value of $189,392.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,141 shares in the company, valued at $277,633.72. The trade was a 40.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.04% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of First Financial Bancorp.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 12,269 shares of the bank's stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 43.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,522 shares of the bank's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,879 shares of the bank's stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 627 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 11,585 shares of the bank's stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 822 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,340 shares of the bank's stock valued at $236,000 after acquiring an additional 945 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.23% of the company's stock.

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.

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