First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Receives $30.50 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $30.50.

A number of analysts have commented on FFBC shares. Hovde Group boosted their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings raised First Financial Bancorp. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.20, for a total value of $604,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 61,856 shares in the company, valued at $1,868,051.20. The trade was a 24.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Gregory A. Harris sold 1,821 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.43, for a total value of $53,592.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,248,744.33. This represents a 4.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 44,821 shares of company stock valued at $1,273,992 in the last 90 days. 1.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 55.0% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 97,727 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,441,000 after purchasing an additional 34,676 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 56,205 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,404,000 after buying an additional 2,458 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 3.9% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 589,799 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,733,000 after buying an additional 22,227 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 571.4% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,412 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $185,000 after buying an additional 6,308 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 318,298 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,951,000 after buying an additional 17,911 shares during the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

First Financial Bancorp. stock opened at $30.19 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $27.04 and its 200 day moving average is $25.69. First Financial Bancorp. has a one year low of $21.10 and a one year high of $31.38. The firm has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.35 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $251.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $249.00 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.77% and a net margin of 20.30%.During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.71 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.59%.

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.