First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.24

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, January 28th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of 0.24 per share by the bank on Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd.

First Financial Bancorp. has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.7% annually over the last three years. First Financial Bancorp. has a payout ratio of 36.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect First Financial Bancorp. to earn $2.73 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 35.2%.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

FFBC stock traded up $0.13 during trading on Friday, hitting $27.98. The company had a trading volume of 327,442 shares, compared to its average volume of 460,920. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1-year low of $20.59 and a 1-year high of $31.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $27.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market cap of $2.67 billion, a PE ratio of 11.66 and a beta of 1.02.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.06. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.52% and a net margin of 18.67%. On average, analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FFBC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday. Finally, Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $33.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday, January 24th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Scott T. Crawley sold 3,000 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was 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 owns 19,279 shares of the company's stock, valued at $565,067.49. The trade was a 13.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 4,068 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.01, for a total value of $122,080.68. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 70,652 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders have sold 8,000 shares of company stock valued at $237,971 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.04% of the company's stock.

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.