First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.23

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 25th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be given a dividend of 0.23 per share by the bank on Monday, June 17th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 3rd.

First Financial Bancorp. has a payout ratio of 40.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect First Financial Bancorp. to earn $2.26 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.92 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 40.7%.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock traded up $0.21 during trading on Friday, hitting $22.57. 465,888 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 282,185. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a P/E 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $21.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.59. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 11.35% and a net margin of 20.74%. The business had revenue of $287.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $201.79 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FFBC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $26.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th.

First Financial Bancorp. Company Profile

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.