Brokerages Set First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Price Target at $33.00

Shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $33.00.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on FFBC. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $34.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. Stephens began coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday, March 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Hovde Group raised their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Claude E. Davis sold 26,123 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider directly owned 30,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $925,984.50. This trade represents a 46.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO James M. Anderson sold 4,263 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $127,890.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 118,537 shares in the company, valued at $3,556,110. This trade represents a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 30,706 shares of company stock valued at $932,372. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 137.6% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 991 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 574 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 56.0% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,526 shares of the bank’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 548 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 530.6% during the third quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,545 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 38.7% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,743 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FFBC opened at $30.82 on Thursday. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1 year low of $22.93 and a 1 year high of $31.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $29.23 and a 200-day moving average of $27.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.89 and a beta of 0.94.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.34%.

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.