First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $32.68 and last traded at $32.6930, with a volume of 27870 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $32.47.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on FFBC shares. Stephens started coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Friday, March 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded First Financial Bancorp. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, June 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $34.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Four equities 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, First Financial Bancorp. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.00.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a PE ratio of 11.83 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $30.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.70.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Claude E. Davis sold 26,123 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.45, for a total value of $795,445.35. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 118,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,556,110. This trade represents a 3.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 41,126 shares of company stock valued at $1,255,501. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 557.5% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,042,913 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,956,000 after acquiring an additional 1,732,223 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,058,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 194.9% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,248,076 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,227,000 after acquiring an additional 824,920 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,617,522 shares of the bank’s stock worth $184,493,000 after purchasing an additional 374,373 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 67.2% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 907,478 shares of the bank’s stock worth $22,705,000 after purchasing an additional 364,597 shares during the period. 77.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.