First Financial Bancorp.’s (FFBC) “Overweight” Rating Reaffirmed at Stephens

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reissued by equities research analysts at Stephens in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $33.00 price target on the bank’s stock. Stephens’ price target points to a potential upside of 19.00% from the company’s previous close.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective 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. Stock Performance

Shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock opened at $27.73 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick 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 firm has a market capitalization of $2.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.95 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at First Financial Bancorp.

In related news, insider Scott T. Crawley sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.31, for a total value of $87,930.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,279 shares in the company, valued at approximately $565,067.49. This represents a 13.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider James R. Shank sold 3,700 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $97,458.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,374 shares in the company, valued at $404,951.16. This represents a 19.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,700 shares of company stock valued at $335,429 in the last three months. Company insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the third quarter valued at $30,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its stake in 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 last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 82.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

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.