First Financial Bancorp. (FFBC) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

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. It also provides real estate loans secured by residential property, such as one to four family residential housing units or commercial property comprising owner-occupied and/or investor income producing real estate consisting of apartments, shopping centers, and office buildings; commercial and industrial loans for various purposes, including inventory, receivables, and equipment, as well as equipment and leasehold improvement financing for franchisees; consumer loans comprising new and used vehicle loans, second mortgages on residential real estate, and unsecured loans; and home equity lines of credit. In addition, the company offers commercial financing to the insurance industry, registered investment advisors, certified public accountants, indirect auto finance companies, and restaurant franchisees. Further, it provides a range of trust and wealth management services; lease and equipment financing services; and currency payments, foreign exchange hedging, and other advisory products. First Financial Bancorp. was founded in 1863 and is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $26.58 to $27.62
• 50-Day Range: $24.38 to $30.34
• 52-Week Range: $20.59 to $31.18
• Volume: 2.20 million shs
• Average Volume: 384,265 shs
• Market Capitalization: $2.61 billion
• P/E Ratio: 11.77
• Dividend Yield: 3.52%
• Price Target: $28.67
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

First Financial Bancorp. scored higher than 79% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 313th out of 937 stocks in the finance sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 1.3 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Moderate Buy

Consensus Rating

First Financial Bancorp. has received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.50, and is based on 2 buy ratings, 2 hold ratings, and no sell ratings.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

First Financial Bancorp. has only been the subject of 2 research reports in the past 90 days.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 1.3 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: -1.98%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for First Financial Bancorp. are expected to decrease by -1.98% in the coming year, from $2.53 to $2.48 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of First Financial Bancorp. is 11.77, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 115.29.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of First Financial Bancorp. is 11.77, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Finance sector average P/E ratio of about 28.96.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

First Financial Bancorp. has a P/B Ratio of 1.15. P/B Ratios below 3 indicates that a company is reasonably valued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 5.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

1.59% of the float of First Financial Bancorp. has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

First Financial Bancorp. has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 3.6, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in First Financial Bancorp. has recently decreased by 9.70%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.

Dividend

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Moderate

Dividend Yield

First Financial Bancorp. pays a meaningful dividend of 3.36%, higher than the bottom 25% of all stocks that pay dividends.

Dividend Growth

First Financial Bancorp. does not have a long track record of dividend growth.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of First Financial Bancorp. is 41.38%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on earnings estimates, First Financial Bancorp. will have a dividend payout ratio of 38.71% next year. This indicates that First Financial Bancorp. will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

Sustainability and ESG

• Score: 2.4 / 5
• Environmental Score: -0.70

Percentage of Shares Shorted

1.59% of the float of First Financial Bancorp. has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

First Financial Bancorp. has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 3.6, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in First Financial Bancorp. has recently decreased by 9.70%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.

News and Social Media

• Score: 3.0 / 5
• News Sentiment: 1.41

News Sentiment

First Financial Bancorp. has a news sentiment score of 1.41. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a higher news sentiment than the 0.78 average news sentiment score of Finance companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 4 news articles for First Financial Bancorp. this week, compared to 2 articles on an average week.

Company Ownership

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Insider Trading: Selling Shares

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, First Financial Bancorp. insiders have sold more of their company's stock than they have bought. Specifically, they have bought $0.00 in company stock and sold $335,429.00 in company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

Only 2.04% of the stock of First Financial Bancorp. is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

77.23% of the stock of First Financial Bancorp. is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

FFBC Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have FFBC shares performed this year?

First Financial Bancorp.'s stock was trading at $23.75 on January 1st, 2024. Since then, FFBC stock has increased by 15.0% and is now trading at $27.31.
View the best growth stocks for 2024 here.

How were First Financial Bancorp.'s earnings last quarter?

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October, 24th. The bank reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. The bank earned $302.82 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $214 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 18.55% and a trailing twelve-month return on equity of 10.32%.

Who are First Financial Bancorp.'s major shareholders?

First Financial Bancorp.'s top institutional investors include State Street Corp (4.86%), Geode Capital Management LLC (2.38%), Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. (1.34%) and First Financial Bank Trust Division (0.94%). Insiders that own company stock include Archie M Brown Jr, William G Barron, Richard S Dennen, Claude E Davis, Vince Berta, Scott T Crawley, James R Shank and Gary W Warzala.
View institutional ownership trends.

How do I buy shares of First Financial Bancorp.?

Shares of FFBC stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.
Compare Top Brokerages Here.

What other stocks do shareholders of First Financial Bancorp. own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that First Financial Bancorp. investors own include Waste Connections (WCN), DiamondRock Hospitality (DRH), American Water Works (AWK), AUO (AUOTY), The RMR Group (RMR), iShares Micro-Cap ETF (IWC) and Voyager Therapeutics (VYGR).

Company Calendar

• Last Earnings: 10/24/2024
• Ex-Dividend for 12/16 Dividend: 12/02/2024
• Dividend Payable: 12/16/2024
• Today: 12/21/2024
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2024

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NASDAQ
• Sector: Finance
• Industry: National commercial banks
• Sub-Industry: Regional Banks
• Current Symbol: NASDAQ:FFBC
• CUSIP: 32020910
• CIK: 708955
• Web: www.bankatfirst.com
• Phone: (877) 322-9530
• Fax: 513-867-3111
• Employees: 2,165
• Year Founded: 1863

Price Target and Rating

• Average Stock Price Target: $28.67
• High Stock Price Target: $31.00
• Low Stock Price Target: $26.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +5.0%
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.50
• Research Coverage: 4 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Most Recent Fiscal Year): $2.32
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 11.77
• Forward P/E Ratio: 10.79
• P/E Growth: N/A
• Net Income: $255.86 million
• Net Margins: 18.55%
• Pretax Margin: 22.93%
• Return on Equity: 10.32%
• Return on Assets: 1.35%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 0.45
• Current Ratio: 0.91
• Quick Ratio: 0.91

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $812.08 million
• Price / Sales: 3.21
• Cash Flow: $2.95 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 9.27
• Book Value: $23.84 per share
• Price / Book: 1.15

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 95,489,000
• Free Float: 93,541,000
• Market Cap: $2.61 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 1.01