First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Announces Dividend Increase – $0.24 Per Share

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, July 23rd, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of 0.24 per share by the bank on Monday, September 16th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This is a boost from First Financial Bancorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23.

First Financial Bancorp. has a dividend payout ratio of 38.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect First Financial Bancorp. to earn $2.55 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.96 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 37.6%.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Up 1.5 %

FFBC stock opened at $26.58 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.54 billion, a PE ratio of 10.72 and a beta of 1.00. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1 year low of $17.23 and a 1 year high of $28.25. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.69% and a net margin of 19.67%. The company had revenue of $314.22 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $203.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.72 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th.

First Financial Bancorp. Company Profile

First Financial Bancorp. operates as the bank holding company for First Financial Bank that provides commercial banking and related services to individuals and businesses in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois. The company offers checking, savings, and money-market accounts; and accepts various deposit products, such as interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing accounts, time deposits, and cash management services for commercial customers.