Stephens Reaffirms “Overweight” Rating for First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Stephens reaffirmed their overweight rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) in a research report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. Stephens currently has a $33.00 price target on the bank’s stock.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

First Financial Bancorp. stock opened at $27.73 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.65 billion, a PE ratio of 11.95 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.55. First Financial Bancorp. has a one year low of $20.59 and a one year high of $31.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

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

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bancorp.

In related news, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,241,600. This trade represents a 1.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Scott T. Crawley sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 19,279 shares in the company, valued at $565,067.49. This trade represents a 13.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,700 shares of company stock valued at $335,429 over the last 90 days. 2.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 2,976.9% during the third quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the bank’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,935 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 82.8% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,150 shares of the bank’s stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 2,333 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.