First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Given Overweight Rating at Stephens

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reaffirmed by investment analysts at Stephens in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $33.00 price objective on the bank’s stock. Stephens’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 18.98% from the stock’s current price.

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 report on Wednesday, December 4th.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

Shares of FFBC traded down $0.26 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $27.74. 45,258 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 425,219. The company has a market capitalization of $2.65 billion, a PE ratio of 11.95 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.45. First Financial Bancorp. has a one year low of $20.59 and a one year high of $31.18.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last released its earnings results 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider James R. Shank sold 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.34, for a total value of $97,458.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $404,951.16. This trade represents a 19.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 74,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,241,600. This represents a 1.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,700 shares of company stock worth $335,429. Corporate insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Souders Financial Advisors grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 0.9% during the third quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 72,038 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,818,000 after buying an additional 617 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 5.2% during the third quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,525 shares of the bank’s stock worth $316,000 after buying an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,340 shares of the bank’s stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 945 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 67,175 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,707,000 after buying an additional 975 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. during the third quarter worth about $28,000. 77.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About First Financial Bancorp.

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.