First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Posts Earnings Results

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBCGet Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The bank reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.02, FiscalAI reports. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 11.09% and a net margin of 20.92%.The business had revenue of $264.17 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $270.29 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

NASDAQ FFBC opened at $35.67 on Wednesday. First Financial Bancorp. has a one year low of $23.06 and a one year high of $36.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $32.32 and a 200 day moving average of $29.77. The company has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.60 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. This is a boost from First Financial Bancorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is 35.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Financial Bancorp.

In other news, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.93, for a total transaction of $309,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 243,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,539,434.94. This trade represents a 3.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO James M. Anderson sold 4,263 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $127,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 118,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,556,110. This represents a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 41,126 shares of company stock worth $1,255,501. Company insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,243,149 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $156,205,000 after buying an additional 30,043 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,851,427 shares of the bank’s stock worth $121,383,000 after acquiring an additional 354,833 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,374,365 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $59,415,000 after acquiring an additional 22,389 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 194.9% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,248,076 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,227,000 after acquiring an additional 824,920 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,176,252 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,430,000 after acquiring an additional 157,814 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on FFBC. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price 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. Stephens initiated coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday, March 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded First Financial Bancorp. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.67.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on FFBC

About First Financial Bancorp.

(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.

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Earnings History for First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

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