First Financial Bancorp. (FFBC) Set to Announce Earnings on Thursday

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) is scheduled to be issuing its quarterly earnings data after the market closes on Thursday, April 25th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $0.59 per share for the quarter. Investors that are interested in registering for the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $202.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $207.95 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 22.94%. On average, analysts expect First Financial Bancorp. to post $2 EPS for the current fiscal year and $2 EPS for the next fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

Shares of FFBC opened at $20.86 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.75 and a beta of 1.05. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12 month low of $17.23 and a 12 month high of $24.99. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $21.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.53.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.41%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FFBC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $24.00 price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 13,933,810 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $303,339,000 after buying an additional 423,327 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,939,804 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $259,820,000 after acquiring an additional 91,126 shares in the last quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 2.1% during the second quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 6,179,741 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $119,889,000 after acquiring an additional 125,325 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 4.5% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,138,615 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $90,098,000 after acquiring an additional 178,038 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 3.9% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,575,867 shares of the bank’s stock worth $77,846,000 after purchasing an additional 135,517 shares in the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About First Financial Bancorp.

First Financial Bancorp. operates as the bank holding company for First Financial Bank that provides commercial banking and related services to individuals and businesses in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois. The company offers checking, savings, and money-market accounts; and accepts various deposit products, such as interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing accounts, time deposits, and cash management services for commercial customers.