First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Price Target Raised to $32.00

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) had its target price boosted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $31.00 to $32.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a market perform rating on the bank’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on FFBC. Weiss Ratings raised shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $28.00 target price (down previously from $30.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Financial Bancorp. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.33.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Down 0.2%

First Financial Bancorp. stock opened at $28.74 on Friday. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52 week low of $21.10 and a 52 week high of $29.21. The stock has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $26.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $251.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $249.00 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 10.77%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.71 EPS. On average, analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Financial Bancorp.

In other news, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 11,500 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 229,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,147,678.80. The trade was a 4.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

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

Trending Headlines about First Financial Bancorp.

Here are the key news stories impacting First Financial Bancorp. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Hovde Group raised its price target from $32 to $34 and assigned an “outperform” rating, signaling stronger analyst conviction and ~18% upside to the new target from current levels.
• Positive Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target from $31 to $32 and maintained a “market perform” rating, adding incremental analyst support for the shares. KBW raises price target to $32 (TickerReport)
• Positive Sentiment: Company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 (annualized yield ~3.5%), reinforcing cash return to shareholders and supporting income-oriented investor interest.
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results: FFBC reported record EPS ($0.80), beating estimates and showing margin strength; management highlighted synergies from recent acquisitions. First Financial Posts Record Earnings, Eyes Synergies (TipRanks)
• Positive Sentiment: Management set a 2026 organic loan-growth target of 6%–8% as integration of acquisitions advances — a clear growth objective that supports revenue and net-interest-income outlook. First Financial outlines 6%–8% loan growth target (Seeking Alpha)
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call transcript and highlights are available for deeper color on guidance, expense synergies and loan pipeline; useful for investors modeling forward quarters. Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript (Seeking Alpha)
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage pieces and screens (e.g., dividend-focused write-ups) are spotlighting FFBC as an income candidate, which may attract longer-term dividend investors but has mixed short-term impact. Dividend-focused coverage (Zacks)
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue slightly missed Q4 estimates, which could temper near-term momentum despite the EPS beat — investors may be watching upcoming quarters for confirmation of revenue and loan-growth targets. FFBC Misses Q4 Revenue Estimates (Yahoo Finance)

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.