First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Stock Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) shares passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $31.01 and traded as high as $32.81. First Financial Bancorp. shares last traded at $32.73, with a volume of 402,723 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on FFBC shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, June 8th. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut First Financial Bancorp. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.67.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Down 0.1%

The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.57 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.01.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.02. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 20.77% and a return on equity of 11.13%. The company had revenue of $264.17 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $270.29 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. First Financial Bancorp.’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. This is an increase from First Financial Bancorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is presently 35.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider Scott T. Crawley sold 2,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.16, for a total transaction of $92,232.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 22,711 shares in the company, valued at $775,807.76. This represents a 10.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 243,758 shares in the company, valued at $7,539,434.94. This represents a 3.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 17,440 shares of company stock worth $559,318 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FFBC. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 55.0% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 97,727 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,441,000 after acquiring an additional 34,676 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 56,205 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,404,000 after purchasing an additional 2,458 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 589,799 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,733,000 after purchasing an additional 22,227 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 571.4% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,412 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $185,000 after purchasing an additional 6,308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 6.0% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 318,298 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,951,000 after buying an additional 17,911 shares during the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.