Piper Jaffray Companies set a $28.00 target price on First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) in a report released on Tuesday, July 25th. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the bank’s stock.
Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, June 26th. ValuEngine raised shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, May 31st. BidaskClub cut shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, June 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a hold rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday, July 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a hold rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Monday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. First Financial Bancorp. currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $28.63.
First Financial Bancorp. (FFBC) opened at 25.75 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.05 and a beta of 1.18. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12 month low of $20.55 and a 12 month high of $29.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $27.33 and a 200-day moving average of $27.29.
First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $85.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.52 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 24.28% and a return on equity of 10.65%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.36 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post $1.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 1st will be paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 30th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.64%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.03%.
In other news, insider Paul C. Silva sold 1,713 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.66, for a total transaction of $47,381.58. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,051 shares in the company, valued at $56,730.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider C Douglas Lefferson sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.69, for a total transaction of $1,027,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 74,170 shares in the company, valued at $1,905,427.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.88% of the company’s stock.
Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 27.6% in the first quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 45,398 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,247,000 after buying an additional 9,821 shares during the period. Capital One National Association raised its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.0% in the first quarter. Capital One National Association now owns 25,670 shares of the bank’s stock worth $705,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can raised its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 6.9% in the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 86,898 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,380,000 after buying an additional 5,586 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 747.7% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 195,286 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,361,000 after buying an additional 172,249 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.9% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 6,840 shares of the bank’s stock worth $187,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.40% of the company’s stock.
About First Financial Bancorp.
First Financial Bancorp. (First Financial) is a regional bank holding company. First Financial is engaged in the business of commercial banking and other banking and banking-related activities through its subsidiary, First Financial Bank, National Association (the Bank). The range of banking services provided by First Financial to individuals and businesses include commercial lending, real estate lending and consumer financing.
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