First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Insider Sells $604,000.00 in Stock

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) insider Richard Dennen sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.20, for a total transaction of $604,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 61,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,868,051.20. This trade represents a 24.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Up 2.2%

FFBC stock traded up $0.66 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $30.12. The stock had a trading volume of 733,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,211,141. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $26.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.41. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1-year low of $21.10 and a 1-year high of $30.56. The firm has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.32 and a beta of 1.00.

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. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.77% and a net margin of 20.30%.The company had revenue of $251.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $249.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.71 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued 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 is presently 37.59%.

First Financial Bancorp. News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strong Q4 / 2025 investor presentation and earnings beat — supports momentum. Management’s investor presentation highlighted solid 2025 results and reinforced the recent Q4 earnings beat (EPS beat and revenue above expectations), which underpins investor confidence and contributed to buying interest. Investor Presentation
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades / price target increases and 52‑week high. Multiple firms raised targets (Truist to $30; other outlets report higher targets) and the stock hit a new 52‑week high following upgrades — analyst support is a clear upside catalyst. Truist Upgrade 52‑Week High
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst Q&A from the earnings call — useful for detail but not a clear directional driver. A round‑up of five analyst questions highlights management commentary areas (loan growth, margin outlook, capital deployment) that investors should monitor — informs diligence but not an immediate catalyst. Q4 Call Questions
• Neutral Sentiment: Community donations — modest PR benefit. The bank reported ~$124k donated in Bloomington in 2025; positive for reputation but negligible financial impact. Community Donations
• Neutral Sentiment: Peer/comparison piece — informational rather than a stock mover. A critical comparison of FirstSun Capital Bancorp and FFBC offers context on scale and metrics but is unlikely to move FFBC shares materially. Peer Comparison
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest note appears to be a data anomaly. Reported short interest shows zero shares/0.0 days ratio — this looks unreliable and should be treated as non‑informative for positioning today.
• Negative Sentiment: Planned job cuts at a newly acquired Seville operations center. First Financial is cutting 56 roles at an operations center in Seville — cost savings might help margins long term but layoffs can be a near‑term reputational and execution risk. Seville Job Cuts
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale disclosed. Gregory A. Harris sold 1,821 shares (~$53.6k) on Feb. 2 (SEC Form 4 filed). The sale is small relative to overall insider holdings and the company’s market cap, but some investors interpret insider selling as a mild negative signal. SEC Form 4

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 23,649 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $592,000 after buying an additional 2,100 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al grew its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 58,029 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,452,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 310,200 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,761,000 after purchasing an additional 23,700 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $936,000. Finally, Western Standard LLC purchased a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,876,000. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on FFBC shares. Hovde Group boosted their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings upgraded First Financial Bancorp. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Financial Bancorp. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.50.

About First Financial Bancorp.

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.