First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Hits Expectations

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.59, Yahoo Finance reports. The firm had revenue of $287.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $201.79 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 20.74% and a return on equity of 11.35%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.76 earnings per share.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FFBC opened at $22.57 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.10 and a beta of 1.05. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1-year low of $17.23 and a 1-year high of $24.99. The company’s fifty day moving average is $21.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.08%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on FFBC shares. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday, February 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $26.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $24.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Tuesday, April 9th.

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.