First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Price Target Raised to $32.00

by · The Cerbat Gem

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC – Free Report) had its price objective lifted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $30.00 to $32.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the bank’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial initiated coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $27.00 price objective for the company.

View Our Latest Analysis on First Financial Bancorp.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of FFBC opened at $24.35 on Wednesday. First Financial Bancorp. has a fifty-two week low of $21.10 and a fifty-two week high of $31.18. The firm has a market cap of $2.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $23.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 18.65% and a return on equity of 10.44%. The company had revenue of $201.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $214.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.83%.

Institutional Trading of First Financial Bancorp.

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of FFBC. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $16,615,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,961,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 38.3% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,186,286 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,887,000 after buying an additional 328,788 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,827,000. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 65.2% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 669,409 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $17,994,000 after acquiring an additional 264,083 shares in the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About First Financial Bancorp.

(Get Free Report)

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.

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