First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $34.00.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen cut First Financial Bancorp. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Truist Financial upgraded shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $35.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FFBC opened at $32.40 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.45 and a beta of 0.91. 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. has a 12-month low of $23.06 and a 12-month high of $36.24.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.02. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 20.77% and a return on equity of 11.13%. The business had revenue of $264.17 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $270.29 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 3.22 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. This is an increase from First Financial Bancorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.75%.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FFBC. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 137.6% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 991 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of 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 2nd quarter worth about $55,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $57,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 38.7% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,743 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About First Financial Bancorp.

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 community organizations.

First Financial Bank offers commercial and retail banking products, including business loans, commercial real estate financing, consumer lending, residential mortgage services, deposit accounts, treasury management, and online and mobile banking.