First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Short Interest Update

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,337,746 shares, a drop of 24.3% from the December 31st total of 3,089,387 shares. Approximately 2.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 899,776 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days. Based on an average trading volume of 899,776 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days. Approximately 2.4% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Hovde Group boosted their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings raised First Financial Bancorp. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $28.00 price target (down from $30.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, October 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.33.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Down 0.2%

NASDAQ FFBC traded down $0.06 during trading on Friday, hitting $28.74. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,343,952 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,153,072. First Financial Bancorp. has a fifty-two week low of $21.10 and a fifty-two week high of $29.21. The company has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a PE ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.35.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $251.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the company posted $0.71 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 First Financial Bancorp. news, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 11,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 229,391 shares in the company, valued at $6,147,678.80. This trade represents a 4.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 4.9% during the second quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 378,913 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,192,000 after purchasing an additional 17,549 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 12.1% during the 2nd quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 20,313 shares of the bank’s stock worth $493,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares during the period. MQS Management LLC raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 20.5% during the 2nd quarter. MQS Management LLC now owns 26,192 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $635,000 after buying an additional 4,463 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,158,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 297,917 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,281,000 after buying an additional 1,408 shares during the period. 77.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key First Financial Bancorp. News

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)

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.