First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Given New $35.00 Price Target at Truist Financial

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) had its price target raised by equities research analysts at Truist Financial from $33.00 to $35.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the bank’s stock. Truist Financial’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 2.24% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on FFBC. Wall Street Zen cut First Financial Bancorp. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Stephens started coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday, March 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 price objective for the company. 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. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.67.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FFBC traded up $0.22 during trading on Friday, reaching $34.23. The company had a trading volume of 214,727 shares, compared to its average volume of 945,255. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $31.55 and its 200 day moving average is $29.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a PE ratio of 12.10 and a beta of 0.92. First Financial Bancorp. has a twelve month low of $23.06 and a twelve month high of $35.00.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.07. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 20.92% and a return on equity of 11.09%. The business had revenue of $265.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $257.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 3.25 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.93, for a total value of $309,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 243,758 shares in the company, valued at $7,539,434.94. This trade represents a 3.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Claude E. Davis sold 26,123 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.45, for a total value of $795,445.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,410 shares in the company, valued at $925,984.50. This represents a 46.21% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 41,126 shares of company stock valued at $1,255,501 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 557.5% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,042,913 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,956,000 after purchasing an additional 1,732,223 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 1st quarter worth about $34,058,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 194.9% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,248,076 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,227,000 after buying an additional 824,920 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,617,522 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $184,493,000 after buying an additional 374,373 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 67.2% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 907,478 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $22,705,000 after buying an additional 364,597 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.