Truist Financial Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Stock

by · The Markets Daily

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC – Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by investment analysts at Truist Financial from $29.00 to $30.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “hold” rating on the bank’s stock. Truist Financial’s price target indicates a potential upside of 3.83% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Hovde Group increased their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $28.00 price objective (down from $30.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, First Financial Bancorp. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.50.

Get Our Latest Analysis on First Financial Bancorp.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of FFBC stock traded up $0.15 on Monday, hitting $28.89. The stock had a trading volume of 109,191 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,185,359. First Financial Bancorp. has a twelve month low of $21.10 and a twelve month high of $29.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $26.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.35. The firm has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.86 and a beta of 0.99.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $251.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the company posted $0.71 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bancorp.

In related news, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 11,500 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FFBC. Bogart Wealth LLC purchased a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the third quarter valued at $25,000. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. MAI Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 530.6% during the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,545 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 2,741.3% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,790 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 1,727 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 3rd quarter worth about $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

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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