First Financial Bancorp. (FFBC) to Release Quarterly Earnings on Thursday

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) is scheduled to be releasing its earnings data after the market closes on Thursday, October 24th. Analysts expect First Financial Bancorp. to post earnings of $0.67 per share for the quarter. Individual that wish to listen to the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.69% and a net margin of 19.67%. The firm had revenue of $314.22 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $203.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.72 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect First Financial Bancorp. to post $3 EPS for the current fiscal year and $3 EPS for the next fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock opened at $26.24 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $25.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.69. The company has a market cap of $2.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.58 and a beta of 0.99. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12-month low of $17.23 and a 12-month high of $28.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, September 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is a positive change from First Financial Bancorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.71%.

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bancorp.

In other news, insider Claude E. Davis sold 29,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.60, for a total value of $771,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 53,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,425,121.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FFBC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th.

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.