First Financial Bancorp. (FFBC) to Release Quarterly Earnings on Thursday

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) will be releasing its earnings data after the market closes on Thursday, October 24th. Analysts expect First Financial Bancorp. to post earnings of $0.67 per share for the quarter. Investors that are interested in participating in the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 19.67% and a return on equity of 10.69%. The business had revenue of $314.22 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $203.50 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.72 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect First Financial Bancorp. to post $3 EPS for the current fiscal year and $3 EPS for the next fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FFBC opened at $26.24 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $25.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.58 and a beta of 0.99. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1-year low of $17.23 and a 1-year high of $28.25.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, September 2nd were issued a $0.24 dividend. This is a boost from First Financial Bancorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on FFBC shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th.

Insider Activity at First Financial Bancorp.

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider Claude E. Davis sold 29,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.60, for a total value of $771,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 53,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,425,121.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.