First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Stock Price Breaks Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)’s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $31.87 and traded as high as $32.01. First Financial Bancorp. shares last traded at $31.48, with a volume of 1,049,131 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FFBC. Wall Street Zen lowered First Financial Bancorp. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Truist Financial upgraded First Financial Bancorp. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $35.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.00.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.12 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $32.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.02. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 11.13% and a net margin of 20.77%. The company had revenue of $264.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $270.29 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.74 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider Scott T. Crawley sold 2,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.16, for a total transaction of $92,232.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 22,711 shares in the company, valued at $775,807.76. This represents a 10.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO James M. Anderson sold 4,000 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.73, for a total value of $134,920.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 114,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,863,333.01. The trade was a 3.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 27,788 shares of company stock valued at $919,006. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FFBC. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 137.6% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 991 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the third quarter worth $39,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. during the 2nd quarter worth about $47,000. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the second quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 2nd quarter valued at $57,000. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Company Profile

First Financial Bancorp. is a bank holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Through its principal subsidiary, First Financial Bank, the company provides banking and financial services to businesses, individuals and institutions.

First Financial Bank offers commercial and consumer lending, deposit accounts, treasury management, cash-management services and mortgage banking. Its services also include wealth management, investment management, trust and estate administration, and other financial solutions designed for businesses, municipalities, nonprofit organizations and individual customers.

The company serves communities across Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky through a network of banking offices and digital banking channels.