First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

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

FFBC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $34.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Stephens started coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday, March 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FFBC opened at $32.30 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1-year low of $22.93 and a 1-year high of $32.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 0.93. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $30.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.27.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is presently 35.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO James M. Anderson sold 4,263 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $127,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 118,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,556,110. The trade was a 3.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.93, for a total transaction of $309,300.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 41,126 shares of company stock worth $1,255,501 over the last ninety days. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 29.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,236,781 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,481,000 after purchasing an additional 283,306 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 8.0% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 333,019 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,285,000 after purchasing an additional 24,654 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 91.3% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 27,466 shares of the bank’s stock worth $766,000 after buying an additional 13,111 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 38.1% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 124,914 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,483,000 after buying an additional 34,441 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 44.6% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 137,364 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,830,000 after buying an additional 42,368 shares in the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.