First Financial Bancorp. (FFBC) to Release Quarterly Earnings on Thursday

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) will release its earnings data after the market closes on Thursday, October 24th. Analysts expect First Financial Bancorp. to post earnings of $0.67 per share for the quarter. Parties interested in registering for the company's conference call can do so using this link.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 19.67% and a return on equity of 10.69%. The business had revenue of $314.22 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $203.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.72 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect First Financial Bancorp. to post $3 EPS for the current fiscal year and $3 EPS for the next fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

Shares of FFBC traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $26.43. 382,001 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 363,952. First Financial Bancorp. has a fifty-two week low of $17.23 and a fifty-two week high of $28.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.54 and a beta of 0.99. The business's 50 day moving average is $25.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is an increase from First Financial Bancorp.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. First Financial Bancorp.'s dividend payout ratio is 38.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider Claude E. Davis sold 29,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.60, for a total value of $771,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 53,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,425,121.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.