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

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

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Down 0.9 %

First Financial Bancorp. stock opened at $27.73 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.95 and a beta of 1.02. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1 year low of $20.59 and a 1 year high of $31.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $28.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.06. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 18.55% and a return on equity of 10.32%. On average, research analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider Scott T. Crawley sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $565,067.49. This represents a 13.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 4,068 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.01, for a total value of $122,080.68. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 70,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,120,266.52. This represents a 5.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,700 shares of company stock worth $335,429. Insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the fourth quarter valued at about $208,000. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 82.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,150 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $138,000 after acquiring an additional 2,333 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased 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 acquiring an additional 945 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 37.7% during the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,251 shares of the bank’s stock worth $464,000 after acquiring an additional 4,726 shares during the period. Finally, Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. in the 4th quarter valued at $273,000. Institutional investors 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.