First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Posts Earnings Results

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The bank reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $234.01 million for the quarter. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 20.64%.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

Shares of FFBC stock opened at $23.96 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.87 and a beta of 1.03. First Financial Bancorp. has a fifty-two week low of $21.10 and a fifty-two week high of $31.18. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $25.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Thomas Murray Obrien sold 7,383 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.54, for a total value of $195,944.82. Following the sale, the director directly owned 46,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,233,579.20. This trade represents a 13.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 12,500 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.79, for a total value of $309,875.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 240,891 shares in the company, valued at $5,971,687.89. This represents a 4.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 0.7% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 58,585 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 4.0% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 10,923 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 24.4% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 43.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,522 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 19.4% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,903 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised First Financial Bancorp. from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 20th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $28.00 price target (down previously from $30.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, October 27th. Hovde Group assumed coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $28.00 price target (up previously from $27.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Financial Bancorp. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.50.

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.