Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Positive Forecast for First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Stock Price

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) had its price objective lifted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $31.00 to $32.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the bank’s stock.

Separately, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $33.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ FFBC opened at $28.23 on Monday. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1 year low of $20.59 and a 1 year high of $31.18. The firm has a market cap of $2.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.17 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. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.58.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 4,068 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.01, for a total value of $122,080.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 70,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,120,266.52. This represents a 5.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider James R. Shank sold 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.34, for a total value of $97,458.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $404,951.16. This trade represents a 19.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,700 shares of company stock valued at $335,429. 2.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp grew its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,643,440 shares of the bank’s stock worth $117,154,000 after buying an additional 39,655 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,271,990 shares of the bank’s stock worth $57,333,000 after purchasing an additional 34,977 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,282,349 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,354,000 after purchasing an additional 23,472 shares during the period. First Financial Bank Trust Division lifted its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 4.2% in the third quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 901,908 shares of the bank’s stock worth $22,755,000 after purchasing an additional 36,679 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 4.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 491,232 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,394,000 after purchasing an additional 20,449 shares during the period. 77.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.