First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Earns Sector Perform Rating from Royal Bank Of Canada

Key Points

• The Royal Bank of Canada has raised its price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $27.00 to $28.00, indicating a potential upside of 10.63% from the stock's previous close.
• First Financial Bancorp. reported earnings per share of $0.74 for the quarter, beating analysts' expectations, with revenue reaching $226.30 million.
• Multiple research analysts rate First Financial Bancorp. stock as a "hold," with an average target price of $29.00 following various recent upgrades and ratings changes.

Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated their sector perform rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $28.00 price target on the bank's stock, up from their prior price target of $27.00.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "hold" rating and a $27.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded First Financial Bancorp. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $29.00.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

FFBC stock traded up $0.35 on Monday, reaching $25.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 462,053 shares, compared to its average volume of 378,193. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52 week low of $21.10 and a 52 week high of $31.18. The company has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.08 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $24.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $226.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $219.95 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 19.41%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is a boost from First Financial Bancorp.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.97%. First Financial Bancorp.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.40%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 43.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,522 shares of the bank's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 24.4% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the bank's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 68.9% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,502 shares of the bank's stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 807.3% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,976 shares of the bank's stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 2,648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the first quarter valued at approximately $78,000. 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.