Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Stock

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) had its price objective hoisted by equities research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $31.00 to $32.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “market perform” rating on the bank’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 15.40% from the stock’s previous close.

Separately, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $33.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Friday, January 24th.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FFBC opened at $27.73 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.95 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a 50 day moving average of $28.01 and a 200 day moving average of $26.61. 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. has a 1-year low of $20.59 and a 1-year high of $31.18.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider Scott T. Crawley sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.31, for a total transaction of $87,930.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,279 shares in the company, valued at approximately $565,067.49. This represents a 13.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 4,068 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.01, for a total transaction of $122,080.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 70,652 shares in the company, valued at $2,120,266.52. This represents a 5.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,000 shares of company stock worth $237,971 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 2,976.9% in the third quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,935 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 82.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,150 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $138,000 after acquiring an additional 2,333 shares in the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.