First Financial Bancorp.'s (FFBC) "Sector Perform" Rating Reaffirmed at Royal Bank Of Canada

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 Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has a $27.00 price target on the bank's stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on FFBC. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "hold" rating and a $27.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

FFBC traded down $0.20 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $24.35. 919,117 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 420,479. The company has a market cap of $2.33 billion, a PE ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 0.97. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $23.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.45. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1 year low of $21.10 and a 1 year 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.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.63. The company 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 18.65% and a return on equity of 10.44%. First Financial Bancorp.'s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.83%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 58,585 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,463,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 10,923 shares of the bank's stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the bank's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 12,269 shares of the bank's stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position 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 period. 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.