First Financial Bancorp. (FFBC) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.25 on March 16th

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a dividend of 0.25 per share by the bank on Monday, March 16th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd.

First Financial Bancorp. has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 1 years. First Financial Bancorp. has a payout ratio of 36.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect First Financial Bancorp. to earn $2.77 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 36.1%.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

FFBC stock opened at $28.07 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $27.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.12. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12 month low of $21.10 and a 12 month high of $31.38. The stock has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a PE ratio of 10.55 and a beta of 1.00.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $251.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $249.00 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 10.77%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.71 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Hovde Group raised their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.50.

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.