Stephens Upgrades First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) to Overweight

Stephens upgraded shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report issued on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FFBC opened at $28.95 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a PE ratio of 12.48 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $27.14 and a 200-day moving average of $25.16. First Financial Bancorp. has a one year low of $20.59 and a one year high of $31.18.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.32% and a net margin of 18.55%. The business had revenue of $302.82 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $214.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.67 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is 41.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider James R. Shank sold 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.34, for a total transaction of $97,458.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,374 shares in the company, valued at $404,951.16. The trade was a 19.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 932 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $27,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,720 shares in the company, valued at $2,241,600. This trade represents a 1.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,700 shares of company stock valued at $335,429. Corporate insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 2,976.9% in the third quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the bank’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,935 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 23.1% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,340 shares of the bank’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 2nd quarter valued at $77,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

About First Financial Bancorp.

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.