First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $33.99 and last traded at $33.98, with a volume of 101998 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $33.90.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FFBC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $34.00 price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen cut First Financial Bancorp. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial raised their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Friday, March 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 price target for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.00.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $3.55 billion, a PE ratio of 11.96 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $30.88 and its 200-day moving average is $28.81.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.93, for a total value of $309,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 243,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,539,434.94. This trade represents a 3.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Claude E. Davis sold 26,123 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.45, for a total value of $795,445.35. Following the transaction, the insider owned 30,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $925,984.50. This represents a 46.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 41,126 shares of company stock worth $1,255,501. 1.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FFBC. Waverly Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 46,429 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,294,000 after buying an additional 376 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 2.9% during the first quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,736 shares of the bank’s stock worth $383,000 after buying an additional 381 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 26,260 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $657,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,309 shares of the bank’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 38.7% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,743 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About First Financial Bancorp.

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.