Brokerages Set First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Target Price at $31.17

04 Apr 2026, 05:34 by Michael Walen · The Markets Daily

Shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC – Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $31.1667.

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Hovde Group upped their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings raised First Financial Bancorp. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on FFBC

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.20, for a total value of $604,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 61,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,868,051.20. The trade was a 24.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Gregory A. Harris sold 1,821 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.43, for a total transaction of $53,592.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,248,744.33. This trade represents a 4.12% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 32,141 shares of company stock worth $969,429. Corporate insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CenterBook Partners LP bought a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. in the third quarter valued at $1,504,000. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 47.7% during the third quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 559,488 shares of the bank’s stock worth $14,127,000 after acquiring an additional 180,575 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 14.4% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 373,524 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,431,000 after acquiring an additional 47,142 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,158,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,713,828 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $270,524,000 after purchasing an additional 47,496 shares in the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

NASDAQ FFBC opened at $28.08 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.94 billion, a PE ratio of 10.56 and a beta of 0.94. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12-month low of $21.10 and a 12-month high of $31.38. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $28.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.38.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $251.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $249.00 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 10.77%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.71 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.59%.

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.