First Financial Bancorp. (FFBC) Expected to Announce Earnings on Thursday

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) is expected to be posting its quarterly earnings results after the market closes on Thursday, January 23rd. Analysts expect First Financial Bancorp. to announce earnings of $0.65 per share and revenue of $216,325.00 billion for the quarter. Individual that wish to register for the company's earnings conference call can do so using this link.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $302.82 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $214.00 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 18.55% and a return on equity of 10.32%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect First Financial Bancorp. to post $3 EPS for the current fiscal year and $2 EPS for the next fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of FFBC traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $27.55. 736,279 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 393,648. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.88 and a beta of 1.02. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1 year low of $20.59 and a 1 year high of $31.18. The firm's fifty day moving average is $28.20 and its 200-day moving average is $26.23.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FFBC. Stephens upgraded First Financial Bancorp. from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 932 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $27,960.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 74,720 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,241,600. This trade represents a 1.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider James R. Shank sold 3,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.34, for a total transaction of $97,458.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,374 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $404,951.16. This trade represents a 19.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,700 shares of company stock valued at $335,429 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.04% of the company's stock.

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 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.