First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Sunday.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on FFBC. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Stephens started coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday, March 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $34.00 price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.00.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

NASDAQ:FFBC opened at $32.30 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $30.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.24. First Financial Bancorp. has a one year low of $22.93 and a one year high of $32.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Claude E. Davis sold 26,123 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.45, for a total transaction of $795,445.35. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $925,984.50. The trade was a 46.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO James M. Anderson sold 4,263 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $127,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 118,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,556,110. This represents a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 41,126 shares of company stock worth $1,255,501. Insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FFBC. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 137.6% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 991 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp increased its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 56.0% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,526 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 548 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 530.6% in the third quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,545 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 38.7% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,743 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the fourth quarter valued at $50,000. 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.