First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Monday.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on FFBC. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $34.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Stephens began coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday, March 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.00.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

NASDAQ FFBC opened at $31.61 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $30.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.50. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52 week low of $22.98 and a 52 week high of $32.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.17 and a beta of 0.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.93, for a total transaction of $309,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 243,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,539,434.94. This trade represents a 3.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO James M. Anderson sold 4,263 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $127,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly 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. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 41,126 shares of company stock valued at $1,255,501. Company insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Financial Bancorp.

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 55.0% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 97,727 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,441,000 after purchasing an additional 34,676 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 56,205 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,404,000 after buying an additional 2,458 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 3.9% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 589,799 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,733,000 after buying an additional 22,227 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 571.4% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,412 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $185,000 after buying an additional 6,308 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 318,298 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,951,000 after buying an additional 17,911 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

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.