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

Stephens reiterated their overweight rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $33.00 price objective on the bank’s stock.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of 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 NASDAQ:FFBC opened at $27.73 on Friday. 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 quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $28.05 and a 200-day moving average of $26.49. 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 announced its earnings results 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, equities analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Financial Bancorp.

In related news, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 4,068 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were 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 directly owns 70,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,120,266.52. This trade represents a 5.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $87,930.00. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,700 shares of company stock valued at $335,429 in the last 90 days. 2.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Financial Bancorp.

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FFBC. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 2,976.9% in the third quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the bank’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,935 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 82.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,150 shares of the bank’s stock worth $138,000 after acquiring an additional 2,333 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.