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

Royal Bank of Canada reissued their sector perform rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) in a report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a $30.00 target price on the bank’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Up 1.8 %

FFBC opened at $28.23 on Monday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.58. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52 week low of $20.59 and a 52 week high of $31.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market cap of $2.70 billion, a PE ratio of 12.17 and a beta of 1.02.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 4,068 shares of First Financial Bancorp. 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 70,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,120,266.52. This trade represents a 5.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider James R. Shank sold 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.34, for a total value of $97,458.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $404,951.16. This represents a 19.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,700 shares of company stock valued at $335,429 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Financial Bancorp.

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FFBC. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted 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 period. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the second quarter valued at $300,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 4th quarter valued at $273,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 worth $57,333,000 after buying an additional 34,977 shares during the period. Finally, Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 25.2% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 166,170 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,192,000 after acquiring an additional 33,464 shares in 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.