First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Given “Sector Perform” Rating at Royal Bank of Canada

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)‘s stock had its “sector perform” rating reissued by equities researchers at Royal Bank of Canada in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $30.00 price target on the bank’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price indicates a potential upside of 8.19% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Down 1.8 %

First Financial Bancorp. stock opened at $27.73 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.65 billion, a PE ratio of 11.95 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. First Financial Bancorp. has a fifty-two week low of $20.59 and a fifty-two week high of $31.18. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $28.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.61.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.06. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.32% and a net margin of 18.55%. Research analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Scott T. Crawley sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.31, for a total transaction of $87,930.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,279 shares in the company, valued at $565,067.49. This trade represents a 13.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 932 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $27,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,241,600. The trade was a 1.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 8,000 shares of company stock worth $237,971. 2.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Financial Bancorp.

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FFBC. State Street Corp increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 0.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,643,440 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $117,154,000 after purchasing an additional 39,655 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,271,990 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $57,333,000 after acquiring an additional 34,977 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,282,349 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,354,000 after acquiring an additional 23,472 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division lifted its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 901,908 shares of the bank’s stock worth $22,755,000 after acquiring an additional 36,679 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 491,232 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,394,000 after purchasing an additional 20,449 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Company Profile

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.