First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $33.00.

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $34.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, April 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday, March 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Financial Bancorp.

In other news, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.93, for a total transaction of $309,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 243,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,539,434.94. This represents a 3.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO James M. Anderson sold 4,263 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $127,890.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 118,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,556,110. This represents a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 41,126 shares of company stock worth $1,255,501 in the last quarter. 1.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FFBC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,929,185 shares of the bank’s stock worth $273,448,000 after buying an additional 215,357 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,617,522 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $184,493,000 after buying an additional 374,373 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,851,427 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $121,383,000 after acquiring an additional 354,833 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,374,365 shares of the bank’s stock worth $59,415,000 after acquiring an additional 22,389 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 557.5% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,042,913 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,956,000 after acquiring an additional 1,732,223 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

NASDAQ:FFBC opened at $31.61 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.50. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52 week low of $22.98 and a 52 week high of $32.66. The stock has a market cap of $3.32 billion, a PE ratio of 11.17 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.34%.

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.