First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Price Target Raised to $30.00

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) had its price target raised by Truist Financial from $29.00 to $30.00 in a report published on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. Truist Financial currently has a hold rating on the bank’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on FFBC. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $28.00 target price (down from $30.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research lowered First Financial Bancorp. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings raised First Financial Bancorp. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Hovde Group boosted their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.50.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

FFBC stock opened at $30.12 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.32 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.44. First Financial Bancorp. has a fifty-two week low of $21.10 and a fifty-two week high of $30.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the company earned $0.71 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.59%.

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bancorp.

In other news, insider Gregory A. Harris sold 1,821 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.43, for a total transaction of $53,592.03. Following the sale, the insider owned 42,431 shares in the company, valued at $1,248,744.33. The trade was a 4.12% 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, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 11,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.80, for a total transaction of $308,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 229,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,147,678.80. This trade represents a 4.77% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 44,821 shares of company stock valued at $1,273,992 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Financial Bancorp.

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 1st quarter worth about $5,714,000. Gator Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the third quarter valued at approximately $5,603,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,929,185 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $273,448,000 after buying an additional 215,357 shares during the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 47.7% in the third quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 559,488 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,127,000 after purchasing an additional 180,575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 110.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 324,852 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,881,000 after buying an additional 170,540 shares during the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting First Financial Bancorp.

Here are the key news stories impacting First Financial Bancorp. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised price targets and notes — several firms lifted targets (Truist to $30; other outlets reported $32 and $34), supporting upside expectations and likely driving buying interest. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Stock reached a new 52‑week high after upgrades — the fresh high is a technical catalyst that can attract momentum buyers and index/inflow activity. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results and investor Q&A kept confidence intact — management’s earnings beat and analysts’ Q&A reinforced the view of steady core performance and supported recent positive estimates. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Local community giving — First Financial disclosed ~$124k in 2025 donations (positive PR but negligible direct financial impact). Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Peer/comparison coverage — third‑party comparisons with regional peers provide context but are unlikely to move the stock alone. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider sale disclosed (Richard S. Dennen) — Dennen sold 20,000 shares at an average $30.20 (~$604k), trimming his stake by ~24.4%; sizable insider sales can worry some investors about near‑term insider conviction. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Additional insider selling (Gregory A. Harris) — Harris sold 1,821 shares at ~$29.43; smaller in scale but adds to the narrative of insiders trimming positions. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Cost/headcount action at Seville operations center — First Financial will cut 56 jobs at a recently acquired operations center; while cost control can be positive long term, layoffs and integration risk can create short‑term execution concerns. Read More.

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.