First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Stock Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)’s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $25.20 and traded as high as $26.87. First Financial Bancorp. shares last traded at $26.81, with a volume of 1,247,570 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FFBC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $28.00 target price (down previously from $30.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, October 27th. Zacks Research cut First Financial Bancorp. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.50.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Up 3.3%

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.64 billion, a PE ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 0.99.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The bank reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 20.64%.The firm had revenue of $234.01 million during the quarter. On average, analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Financial Bancorp.

In other news, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 11,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.80, for a total transaction of $308,200.00. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Financial Bancorp.

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bogart Wealth LLC acquired a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the third quarter valued at $25,000. MAI Capital Management increased its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 530.6% in the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,545 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 2,741.3% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,790 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 1,727 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the 3rd quarter worth $47,000. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About First Financial Bancorp.

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.