First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Upgraded at Stephens

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) was upgraded by analysts at Stephens from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report issued on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Down 0.0 %

FFBC stock opened at $28.94 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. First Financial Bancorp. has a twelve month low of $20.59 and a twelve month high of $31.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.47 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.20.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 18.55% and a return on equity of 10.32%. The business had revenue of $302.82 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $214.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.67 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bancorp.

In related news, insider Scott T. Crawley sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.31, for a total value of $87,930.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $565,067.49. This represents a 13.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 4,068 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.01, for a total transaction of $122,080.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 70,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,120,266.52. This trade represents a 5.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,700 shares of company stock worth $335,429. Insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Financial Bancorp.

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 67,175 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,707,000 after buying an additional 975 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,271,990 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $57,333,000 after buying an additional 34,977 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 140.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 190,742 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,812,000 after buying an additional 111,309 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the third quarter valued at about $334,000. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the third quarter valued at about $235,000. 77.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.