First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Price Target Raised to $32.00

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) had its target price hoisted by investment analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $31.00 to $32.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “market perform” rating on the bank’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 12.12% from the stock’s previous close.

FFBC has been the topic of several other reports. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective (down from $30.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Hovde Group boosted 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. Zacks Research cut shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, First Financial Bancorp. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.33.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock traded down $0.26 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $28.54. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 295,442 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,137,667. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12 month low of $21.10 and a 12 month high of $29.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a PE ratio of 10.73 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $26.03 and a 200 day moving average of $25.32.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.02. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.99% and a net margin of 20.30%.The business had revenue of $251.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $249.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.71 EPS. Analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 11,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.80, for a total transaction of $308,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 229,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,147,678.80. The trade was a 4.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FFBC. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the first quarter valued at $5,714,000. Gator Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. during the third quarter worth approximately $5,603,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,929,185 shares of the bank’s stock worth $273,448,000 after acquiring an additional 215,357 shares during the period. 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 increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 110.5% during the second quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 324,852 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,881,000 after purchasing an additional 170,540 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Key First Financial Bancorp. News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Hovde Group raised its price target on FFBC to $34 (from $32) and moved to an “outperform” rating — an analyst upgrade that signals meaningful upside versus the current price and likely helped buying interest.
• Positive Sentiment: Company-reported Q4: First Financial posted record adjusted results (EPS $0.80, record adjusted revenue and noninterest income, strong ROTCE/ROA) and highlighted completed acquisitions that are driving scale and synergies. PR Newswire
• Positive Sentiment: Board declared a $0.25 quarterly dividend (annualized yield ~3.5%), supporting income-oriented investor demand and signaling capital confidence.
• Positive Sentiment: Management set a 2026 organic loan-growth target of 6%–8% and said integration of recent acquisitions is progressing — guidance that supports revenue and margin expectations. Seeking Alpha
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple outlets and earnings coverage emphasize the EPS beat and call out record results and synergy opportunities, reinforcing the upbeat narrative. Examples: Zacks and TipRanks coverage of Q4 beats and strategic remarks. Zacks Q4 Beats
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call transcript and highlights are available for deeper diligence; these provide detail on margins, loan pipelines and expected cost saves but contain both one-time items and ongoing integration commentary. Seeking Alpha
• Neutral Sentiment: Capital move: the company issued $300M of 6.375% subordinated debt to support capital related to acquisitions — provides capacity but raises interest expense. PR Newswire
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage flagged a Q4 revenue miss vs. certain estimates (conflicting with company-reported adjusted revenue), creating short-term headline risk and mixed investor interpretation of top-line momentum. Yahoo Finance

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.