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

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The bank reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.07, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $265.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $257.97 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.77% and a net margin of 20.30%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Up 1.7%

First Financial Bancorp. stock traded up $0.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $30.37. The stock had a trading volume of 198,179 shares, compared to its average volume of 951,147. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a PE ratio of 11.43 and a beta of 0.94. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12 month low of $22.55 and a 12 month high of $31.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on FFBC. Weiss Ratings upgraded First Financial Bancorp. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Hovde Group increased their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Stephens began coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday, March 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.17.

Insider Activity at First Financial Bancorp.

In related news, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.20, for a total value of $604,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 61,856 shares in the company, valued at $1,868,051.20. This trade represents a 24.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Gregory A. Harris sold 1,821 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.43, for a total value of $53,592.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 42,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,248,744.33. This represents a 4.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 32,141 shares of company stock worth $969,429 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 571.4% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,412 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $185,000 after buying an additional 6,308 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the fourth quarter valued at about $200,000. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the third quarter valued at about $226,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the fourth quarter valued at about $236,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the fourth quarter valued at about $237,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Company Profile

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.