First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Stock Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) shares passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $25.06 and traded as high as $25.47. First Financial Bancorp. shares last traded at $25.25, with a volume of 671,795 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on FFBC shares. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $28.00 target price (down previously from $30.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday. Hovde Group started coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.50.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a PE ratio of 9.35 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The bank reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 20.64%.The company had revenue of $234.01 million for the quarter. On average, research analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is 37.04%.

Insider Activity at First Financial Bancorp.

In related news, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 11,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.80, for a total transaction of $308,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 229,391 shares in the company, valued at $6,147,678.80. This represents a 4.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 21.3% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,670 shares of the bank’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 19.4% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,903 shares of the bank’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.7% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 28,308 shares of the bank’s stock worth $715,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank increased its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.8% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 27,784 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $702,000 after acquiring an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,125 shares of the bank’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares during the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Financial Bancorp. Company Profile

First Financial Bancorp (NASDAQ: FFBC) is a bank holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the parent of First Financial Bank. The company provides a comprehensive suite of commercial and consumer banking services through a network of more than 100 full-service banking centers and mortgage offices across Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. Its core mission centers on delivering personalized relationship banking to businesses, individuals and public sector clients.

First Financial Bank’s product portfolio includes deposit solutions such as checking, savings and money market accounts, alongside a range of lending offerings that cover commercial and industrial loans, real estate and construction financing, home mortgages and home equity lines of credit.