Truist Financial Issues Positive Forecast for First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Stock Price

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) had its target price increased by Truist Financial from $29.00 to $30.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a hold rating on the bank’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $28.00 price objective (down previously from $30.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Hovde Group raised their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Zacks Research cut First Financial Bancorp. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. 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 MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.50.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

FFBC stock opened at $29.17 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1 year low of $21.10 and a 1 year high of $29.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $26.21 and a 200 day moving average of $25.38. The company has a market cap of $2.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.97 and a beta of 1.00.

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

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.59%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 11,500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 229,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,147,678.80. This trade represents a 4.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FFBC. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the first quarter worth approximately $5,714,000. Gator Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. in the third quarter worth approximately $5,603,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position 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 worth $273,448,000 after purchasing an additional 215,357 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 47.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 559,488 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,127,000 after buying an additional 180,575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 110.5% during 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 period. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

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.