First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.02 EPS

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The bank reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.02, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $251.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $249.00 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 10.99%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.71 earnings per share.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

FFBC opened at $28.80 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $26.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.32. The company has a market cap of $2.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.83 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52-week low of $21.10 and a 52-week high of $29.21.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is 37.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Hovde Group initiated coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $28.00 price objective (down from $30.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, October 27th. Zacks Research cut First Financial Bancorp. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.50.

Key Stories Impacting First Financial Bancorp.

Here are the key news stories impacting First Financial Bancorp. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat and record results — FFBC reported adjusted EPS of $0.80 vs. consensus $0.78 and adjusted revenue of $251.3M; management highlighted record noninterest income, a 3.98% NIM (FTE) and strong ROTCE on an adjusted basis. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Acquisitions and synergy potential — The Westfield acquisition closed Nov. 1 and the BankFinancial deal closed Jan. 1; management discussed expected synergies and momentum on the earnings call. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend and shareholder yield — The board approved a quarterly dividend of $0.25 (annualized yield ~3.6%), supporting income-oriented investors. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Falling short interest — Short interest declined in mid-January to ~2.34M shares (about 2.4% of float), reducing short pressure on the stock (fewer potential shares to cover).
• Neutral Sentiment: New debt issuance — FFBC issued $300M of 6.375% subordinated debt to support capital after acquisitions; this provides funding but adds fixed interest obligations. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/coverage pieces and call transcript available — Several write-ups and the full earnings call transcript outline management’s outlook and integration plans for the new acquisitions. Read More. • Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Interest expense and integration risk — The subordinated debt raises fixed interest costs and successful realization of acquisition synergies is not guaranteed; integration or execution missteps could pressure margins or capital metrics. Read More.

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bancorp.

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 11,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.80, for a total transaction of $308,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 229,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,147,678.80. This represents a 4.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 12.4% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 945,401 shares of the bank’s stock worth $23,871,000 after purchasing an additional 104,550 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 22.7% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 786,319 shares of the bank’s stock worth $19,076,000 after purchasing an additional 145,575 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 4.6% during the third quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 739,666 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $18,677,000 after purchasing an additional 32,822 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 3.9% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 589,799 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,733,000 after purchasing an additional 22,227 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 66.1% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 374,396 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,454,000 after purchasing an additional 149,044 shares during the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Financial Bancorp. Company Profile

First Financial Bancorp (NASDAQ: FFBC) is a bank holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the parent of First Financial Bank. The company provides a comprehensive suite of commercial and consumer banking services through a network of more than 100 full-service banking centers and mortgage offices across Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. Its core mission centers on delivering personalized relationship banking to businesses, individuals and public sector clients.

First Financial Bank’s product portfolio includes deposit solutions such as checking, savings and money market accounts, alongside a range of lending offerings that cover commercial and industrial loans, real estate and construction financing, home mortgages and home equity lines of credit.