First Financial Bancorp (NASDAQ:FFBC) – Stock analysts at Piper Jaffray Companies boosted their Q2 2020 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of First Financial Bancorp in a report released on Thursday, June 20th, according to Zacks Investment Research. Piper Jaffray Companies analyst N. Race now expects that the bank will post earnings per share of $0.57 for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $0.56. Piper Jaffray Companies currently has a “Overweight” rating and a $29.00 target price on the stock. Piper Jaffray Companies also issued estimates for First Financial Bancorp’s Q3 2020 earnings at $0.58 EPS, Q4 2020 earnings at $0.59 EPS and FY2020 earnings at $2.29 EPS.
Several other brokerages have also issued reports on FFBC. Stephens reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of First Merchants from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. Finally, BidaskClub downgraded shares of ZIX from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.50.
First Financial Bancorp stock traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $23.86. The company had a trading volume of 161,156 shares, compared to its average volume of 344,182. The stock has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.35. First Financial Bancorp has a 52 week low of $22.07 and a 52 week high of $32.25.
First Financial Bancorp (NASDAQ:FFBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.47. The business had revenue of $148.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $150.53 million. First Financial Bancorp had a net margin of 26.28% and a return on equity of 10.60%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS.
Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp by 598.7% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,076 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 922 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp by 118.3% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,240 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 1,214 shares during the period. Investors Research Corp acquired a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp during the first quarter valued at about $96,000. Trustcore Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp during the first quarter valued at about $139,000. Finally, Eagle Ridge Investment Management acquired a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp during the first quarter valued at about $200,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.76% of the company’s stock.
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.69%. First Financial Bancorp’s payout ratio is 38.60%.
About First Financial Bancorp
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 accepts various deposit products, such as interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing accounts, time deposits, and cash management services for commercial customers.