First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Posted by Brian Himes on Jun 30th, 2026

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC – Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $33.99 and last traded at $33.98, with a volume of 101998 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $33.90.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on FFBC. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday, March 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen cut First Financial Bancorp. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, April 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.00.

Get Our Latest Analysis on FFBC

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $30.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.81. The firm has a market cap of $3.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.96 and a beta of 0.93.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO James M. Anderson sold 4,263 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $127,890.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 118,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,556,110. The trade was a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Claude E. Davis sold 26,123 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.45, for a total value of $795,445.35. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 30,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $925,984.50. The trade was a 46.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 41,126 shares of company stock valued at $1,255,501. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 137.6% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 991 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp boosted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 56.0% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,526 shares of the bank’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 548 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 530.6% in the third quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,545 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 38.7% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,743 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.