First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Given New $30.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) had its price objective reduced by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $31.00 to $30.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the bank’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on FFBC. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday, January 24th.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

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

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.63. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 18.67% and a return on equity of 10.52%. The business had revenue of $201.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $214.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Financial Bancorp.

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider James R. Shank sold 7,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.92, for a total transaction of $189,392.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,141 shares in the company, valued at $277,633.72. This trade 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. 2.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FFBC. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,961,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of 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 worth $31,887,000 after acquiring an additional 328,788 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,827,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 65.2% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 669,409 shares of the bank’s stock worth $17,994,000 after acquiring an additional 264,083 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 713.5% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 265,843 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,149,000 after acquiring an additional 233,163 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.