First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Plans $0.24 Quarterly Dividend

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 24th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of 0.24 per share by the bank on Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.78%.

First Financial Bancorp. has a payout ratio of 39.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect First Financial Bancorp. to earn $2.53 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 37.9%.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

First Financial Bancorp. stock traded down $0.05 on Thursday, reaching $25.43. 477,993 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 367,540. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $25.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.83. The stock has a market cap of $2.43 billion, a PE ratio of 10.25 and a beta of 0.99. First Financial Bancorp. has a twelve month low of $17.23 and a twelve month high of $28.25.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $314.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $203.50 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.69% and a net margin of 19.67%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.58 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FFBC has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th.

Insider Activity at First Financial Bancorp.

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider Claude E. Davis sold 29,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.60, for a total value of $771,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 53,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,425,121.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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.

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