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

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

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

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of FFBC stock opened at $27.73 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $28.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12 month low of $20.59 and a 12 month high of $31.18. The company has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a PE ratio of 11.95 and a beta of 1.02.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.06. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 18.55% and a return on equity of 10.32%. Equities analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.52 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at First Financial Bancorp.

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 4,068 shares of the company’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 value of $122,080.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Scott T. Crawley sold 3,000 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.31, for a total value of $87,930.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,279 shares in the company, valued at $565,067.49. The trade was a 13.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,700 shares of company stock worth $335,429. Company insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FFBC. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 491,232 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,394,000 after acquiring an additional 20,449 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $300,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $273,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.6% during 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. boosted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 25.2% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 166,170 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,192,000 after buying 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.