Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Positive Forecast for First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Stock Price

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) had its price target increased by equities researchers at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $31.00 to $32.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “market perform” rating on the bank’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 12.12% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on FFBC. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Hovde Group upped their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $28.00 price target (down from $30.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.33.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

Shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock traded down $0.26 on Friday, reaching $28.54. The stock had a trading volume of 295,442 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,137,667. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $26.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.32. The stock has a market cap of $2.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.73 and a beta of 0.99. First Financial Bancorp. has a fifty-two week low of $21.10 and a fifty-two week high of $29.21.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.02. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 10.99%. The firm had revenue of $251.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $249.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.71 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bancorp.

In other news, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 11,500 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 229,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,147,678.80. This represents a 4.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bogart Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the third quarter valued at $25,000. First Horizon Corp bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. MAI Capital Management boosted 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 last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 2,741.3% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the 3rd quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting First Financial Bancorp.

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

• Positive Sentiment: Hovde Group raised its price target on FFBC to $34 (from $32) and moved to an “outperform” rating — an analyst upgrade that signals meaningful upside versus the current price and likely helped buying interest.
• Positive Sentiment: Company-reported Q4: First Financial posted record adjusted results (EPS $0.80, record adjusted revenue and noninterest income, strong ROTCE/ROA) and highlighted completed acquisitions that are driving scale and synergies. PR Newswire
• Positive Sentiment: Board declared a $0.25 quarterly dividend (annualized yield ~3.5%), supporting income-oriented investor demand and signaling capital confidence.
• Positive Sentiment: Management set a 2026 organic loan-growth target of 6%–8% and said integration of recent acquisitions is progressing — guidance that supports revenue and margin expectations. Seeking Alpha
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple outlets and earnings coverage emphasize the EPS beat and call out record results and synergy opportunities, reinforcing the upbeat narrative. Examples: Zacks and TipRanks coverage of Q4 beats and strategic remarks. Zacks Q4 Beats
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call transcript and highlights are available for deeper diligence; these provide detail on margins, loan pipelines and expected cost saves but contain both one-time items and ongoing integration commentary. Seeking Alpha
• Neutral Sentiment: Capital move: the company issued $300M of 6.375% subordinated debt to support capital related to acquisitions — provides capacity but raises interest expense. PR Newswire
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage flagged a Q4 revenue miss vs. certain estimates (conflicting with company-reported adjusted revenue), creating short-term headline risk and mixed investor interpretation of top-line momentum. 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.