First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.02 EPS

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) posted its earnings results on Tuesday. The bank reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.02, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $264.17 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $270.29 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 20.77% and a return on equity of 11.34%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Down 4.8%

FFBC opened at $33.96 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.56 billion, a PE ratio of 12.00 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $32.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12-month low of $23.06 and a 12-month high of $36.24.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. This is a boost from First Financial Bancorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is presently 35.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Stephens began coverage on 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Claude E. Davis sold 26,123 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.45, for a total value of $795,445.35. Following the sale, the insider owned 30,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $925,984.50. This represents a 46.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.93, for a total transaction of $309,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 243,758 shares in the company, valued at $7,539,434.94. The trade was a 3.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 41,126 shares of company stock valued at $1,255,501 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Financial Bancorp.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FFBC. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 26,260 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $657,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 11,858 shares of the bank’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 117,088 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,956,000 after buying an additional 606 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC raised its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 17,380 shares of the bank’s stock worth $422,000 after buying an additional 646 shares during the period. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 0.8% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 88,227 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,140,000 after buying an additional 717 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

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.