Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Positive Forecast for First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Stock Price

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) had its price objective boosted by stock analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $31.00 to $32.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “market perform” rating on the bank’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 14.17% from the company’s current price.

Separately, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Friday.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

Shares of FFBC opened at $28.03 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market cap of $2.68 billion, a PE ratio of 12.13 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $28.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.55. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12-month low of $20.59 and a 12-month high of $31.18.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) 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, equities analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.52 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $27,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 74,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,241,600. This trade represents a 1.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider James R. Shank sold 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.34, for a total value of $97,458.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $404,951.16. This trade represents a 19.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,700 shares of company stock valued at $335,429 over the last three months. 2.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FFBC. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. in the second quarter valued at $1,205,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 69,266 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,539,000 after buying an additional 5,551 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 2nd quarter worth $300,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 162.4% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 242,187 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,381,000 after buying an additional 149,896 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 66.5% during the 2nd quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 55,865 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,241,000 after buying an additional 22,305 shares during 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.