First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Given New $27.00 Price Target at Royal Bank of Canada

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) had its target price decreased by Royal Bank of Canada from $30.00 to $27.00 in a report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the bank’s stock.

FFBC has been the topic of several other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday, January 24th.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock opened at $23.17 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a PE ratio of 9.65 and a beta of 0.85. First Financial Bancorp. has a twelve month low of $20.59 and a twelve month high of $31.18. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $24.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63. The company had revenue of $201.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $214.80 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.52% and a net margin of 18.67%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.59 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider James R. Shank sold 7,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.92, for a total value of $189,392.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $277,633.72. This represents a 40.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Financial Bancorp.

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FFBC. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $8,961,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 38.3% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,186,286 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,887,000 after buying an additional 328,788 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the 4th quarter valued at $7,827,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 65.2% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 669,409 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $17,994,000 after buying an additional 264,083 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 713.5% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 265,843 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,149,000 after buying an additional 233,163 shares during the period. 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.