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

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, highlighted on Thursday, October 24th. Shareholders who are recorded by Monday, December 2nd, will receive this dividend payment on Monday, December 16th. When annualized, this dividend amounts to $0.96, translating to a yield of 3.78%.

The payout ratio for First Financial Bancorp. stands at 39.8%, indicating that its dividends are well-supported by its earnings. Analysts forecast the bank to achieve an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.53 next year, which suggests that the company will continue to comfortably cover its $0.96 annual dividend with an anticipated payout ratio of 37.9%.

Recent Stock Performance

On the day the dividend was announced, First Financial Bancorp.'s stock experienced a slight decline, trading down $0.05 to $25.43. A total of 477,993 shares changed hands, which is higher than the average volume of 367,540 shares. The current ratio and quick ratio for the company are both at 0.93, while the debt-to-equity ratio is recorded at 0.59. Over the past 50 days, the stock has maintained an average price of $25.35, and over the last 200 days, it has averaged $23.83. The overall market capitalization of the company is approximately $2.43 billion, with a price-to-earnings (PE) ratio of 10.25. The stock has seen a one-year low of $17.23 and a one-year high of $28.25.

First Financial Bancorp. recently reported its quarterly earnings on July 25th, announcing an EPS of $0.64. This surpassed analysts' expectations of $0.59 by a margin of $0.05. Their revenue for the quarter totaled $314.22 million, significantly exceeding the consensus estimate of $203.50 million. The company recorded a return on equity of 10.69% and a net margin of 19.67%. Compared to the same period last year, where they reported an EPS of $0.72, analysts project that First Financial Bancorp. will report an EPS of 2.58 for the current fiscal year.

Market Analysts' Projections

Several market analysts have recently updated their outlook on First Financial Bancorp. Royal Bank of Canada has upgraded its target price from $25.00 to $29.00 while rating the company as a "sector perform" as of July 29th. Similarly, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods has raised its price target from $25.00 to $27.00 and has given a "market perform" rating on the same date.

Insider Trading Activities

In recent insider trading activities, Claude E. Davis, an insider at First Financial Bancorp., sold 29,000 shares of the bank's stock on August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.60, amounting to a total sale value of $771,400.00. Following this transaction, he retains ownership of 53,576 shares, which are valued at approximately $1,425,121.60. This sale represents a negligible decrease in his overall ownership of the stock. The transaction was made public through a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

About First Financial Bancorp.

First Financial Bancorp. acts as the bank holding company for First Financial Bank and provides a plethora of banking and related services. The company caters to individuals and businesses across Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois. Its offerings include a variety of accounts—checking, savings, and money market—and various deposit products such as time deposits and cash management services for commercial clients.

Dividend, Stock, Announcement