First Financial Bancorp. (FFBC) To Go Ex-Dividend on June 3rd

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

First Financial Bancorp. has a payout ratio of 40.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities 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. Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FFBC traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $22.57. The company had a trading volume of 465,888 shares, compared to its average volume of 282,185. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $21.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.64. The stock 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 one year low of $17.23 and a one year high of $24.99.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on FFBC. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $24.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note 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.