First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $31.64 and last traded at $31.7020, with a volume of 54238 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $30.82.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FFBC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Friday, March 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $34.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.00.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Up 1.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.03 and a beta of 0.93. The business’s 50-day moving average is $29.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 118,537 shares in the company, valued at $3,556,110. This trade represents a 3.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Claude E. Davis sold 26,123 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.45, for a total transaction of $795,445.35. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,410 shares in the company, valued at $925,984.50. This represents a 46.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 31,126 shares of company stock worth $946,201 over the last quarter. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Financial Bancorp.

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Waverly Advisors LLC increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 46,429 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,736 shares of the bank’s stock worth $383,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 26,260 shares of the bank’s stock worth $657,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,309 shares of the bank’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,903 shares of the bank’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.