First Financial Bancorp.'s (FFBC) Sector Perform Rating Reiterated at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reissued their sector perform rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $24.00 target price on the bank's stock.

Separately, Piper Sandler began coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. They issued an overweight rating and a $26.00 price objective on the stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ FFBC traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $22.12. 199,655 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 328,566. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.19 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company's 50 day moving average price is $21.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.46. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12 month low of $17.23 and a 12 month high of $24.99.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $202.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $207.95 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 22.94%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. First Financial Bancorp.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.20%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 573,241 shares of the bank's stock worth $11,236,000 after buying an additional 35,764 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,106,449 shares of the bank's stock worth $21,686,000 after buying an additional 48,501 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 29,376 shares of the bank's stock worth $576,000 after buying an additional 2,678 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 45,998 shares of the bank's stock worth $902,000 after buying an additional 5,577 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 64.7% during the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 156,000 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,705,000 after buying an additional 61,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.