First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.06 EPS

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.06, Zacks reports. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 18.55% and a return on equity of 10.32%.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of FFBC stock opened at $27.73 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.95 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.49. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1 year low of $20.59 and a 1 year high of $31.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bancorp.

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 4,068 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Scott T. Crawley sold 3,000 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.31, for a total value of $87,930.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $565,067.49. The trade was a 13.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,700 shares of company stock valued at $335,429 over the last three months. Company 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.