First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Hits Estimates

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) released its quarterly earnings results on Friday. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.59, Yahoo Finance reports. The company had revenue of $287.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $201.79 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 11.35% and a net margin of 20.74%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.76 earnings per share.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Up 0.9 %

FFBC stock traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $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. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1-year low of $17.23 and a 1-year high of $24.99. The company has a fifty day moving average of $21.76 and a 200 day moving average of $21.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.10 and a beta of 1.05.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd will be paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 3rd. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FFBC. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler began coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday, February 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $26.00 target price for the company.

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.