First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.23

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 25th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd will be paid a dividend of 0.23 per share by the bank on Monday, June 17th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 3rd.

First Financial Bancorp. has a dividend payout ratio of 40.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect First Financial Bancorp. to earn $2.26 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.92 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 40.7%.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ:FFBC traded up $0.21 on Friday, reaching $22.57. The stock had a trading volume of 465,888 shares, compared to its average volume of 282,185. 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 has a 50-day moving average of $21.76 and a 200 day moving average of $21.64. The stock has a market cap of $2.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.10 and a beta of 1.05. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12-month low of $17.23 and a 12-month high of $24.99.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59. The company had revenue of $287.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $201.79 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 20.74% and a return on equity of 11.35%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.76 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $24.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $26.00 target price on the 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.