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

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The bank reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.02, FiscalAI reports. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 20.64% and a return on equity of 10.72%. The business had revenue of $251.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $249.00 million.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

First Financial Bancorp. stock traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $27.20. 1,871,662 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,121,340. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52 week low of $21.10 and a 52 week high of $29.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $2.68 billion, a PE ratio of 10.07 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s fifty day moving average is $25.85 and its 200-day moving average is $25.28.

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bancorp.

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 11,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.80, for a total value of $308,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 229,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,147,678.80. This trade represents a 4.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FFBC. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings 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 worth $185,000 after purchasing an additional 6,308 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. during the 3rd quarter valued at $226,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. during the 3rd quarter valued at $257,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 38.6% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 10,823 shares of the bank’s stock worth $263,000 after acquiring an additional 3,013 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Numerai GP LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the third quarter valued at about $265,000. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.