First Financial Bancorp. (FFBC)
NASDAQ:FFBC
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First Financial Bancorp
(NASDAQ:FFBC)
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Rating:78Outperform
Price Target:
$31.00
▲(6.09% Upside)
Action:ReiteratedDate:02/22/26
FFBC scores well on technical strength (price above key moving averages with positive MACD) and attractive valuation (low P/E with a solid dividend). Financial performance is healthy but tempered by cyclical variability and balance-sheet growth/debt risks, while the latest earnings call was broadly positive with steady guidance but highlighted near-term integration costs and modest margin pressure.
Positive Factors
Profitability & Returns
Consistently strong quarterly profitability and high returns on tangible equity indicate durable earnings power and efficient capital use. This supports internal capital generation, dividend capacity, and the ability to absorb loan losses, underpinning long-term franchise strength.
Negative Factors
Rising Debt & Asset Growth
Rapid balance-sheet expansion and higher debt increase leverage and sensitivity to credit deterioration. If underwriting or economic conditions weaken, elevated debt and larger loan volumes can amplify losses and strain capital, making capital and liquidity management more challenging.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Profitability & Returns
Consistently strong quarterly profitability and high returns on tangible equity indicate durable earnings power and efficient capital use. This supports internal capital generation, dividend capacity, and the ability to absorb loan losses, underpinning long-term franchise strength.
Read all positive factors
First Financial Bancorp (FFBC) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$3.06B
Dividend Yield3.79%
Average Volume (3M)801.73K
Price to Earnings (P/E)9.3
Beta (1Y)0.82
Revenue Growth5.15%
EPS Growth16.42%
CountryUS
Employees2,021
SectorFinancial
Sector Strength70
IndustryBanks - Regional
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)0.64
Shares Outstanding104,586,090
10 Day Avg. Volume590,717
30 Day Avg. Volume801,727
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio0.83
Price to Book (P/B)0.86
Price to Sales (P/S)1.89
P/FCF Ratio7.49
Enterprise Value/Market Cap1.33
Enterprise Value/Revenue3.23
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit4.72
Enterprise Value/Ebitda11.84
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$32.00Price Target Upside9.51% Upside
Rating ConsensusHold
Number of Analyst Covering5
EPS Forecast (FY)3.02
Revenue Forecast (FY)$1.07B
First Financial Bancorp Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
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 accepts various deposi...
How the Company Makes Money
FFBC primarily makes money through its banking subsidiary by earning interest income and fees. The largest revenue driver is typically net interest income: the bank funds itself mainly with customer deposits (and other borrowings) and invests thos...
First Financial Bancorp Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Feb 02, 2026
(Q4-2025)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Apr 23, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
Overall the call conveyed strong operating performance and several record results (earnings, fee income, revenue) driven by organic growth and acquisitions, while acknowledging near-term integration costs, modest margin pressure, seasonal fee variability, and small upticks in NPAs and charge-offs. Management provided constructive guidance for loan growth (6%–8% organic for the year) and expects acquisition-related cost savings to be realized later in 2026.Positive Updates
Record Quarterly Earnings and Strong Profitability
Adjusted EPS of $0.80 in Q4; adjusted return on assets of 1.52% and adjusted return on tangible common equity of ~20.3% for the quarter.
Negative Updates
Modest NIM Compression
Net interest margin decreased 4 basis points q/q to 3.98% and declined year-over-year from 4.05% to 3.98%; guidance assumes potential further modest compression (3.94%–3.99%) with expected rate cuts.
Read all updates
Q4-2025 Updates
Positive
Negative
Record Quarterly Earnings and Strong Profitability
Adjusted EPS of $0.80 in Q4; adjusted return on assets of 1.52% and adjusted return on tangible common equity of ~20.3% for the quarter.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
Guidance highlighted modest near‑term loan and deposit dynamics and steady margins and credit metrics: for Q1 (ex‑Bank Financial) management expects payoff pressure to ease and low single‑digit organic loan growth (annualized), with full‑year legacy loan growth targeted at 6%–8%; core deposit balances may decline modestly near‑term due to seasonal public fund outflows. They forecast net interest margin of 3.94%–3.99% next quarter assuming a 25‑bp March cut (with two cuts in their plan driving the year to the low 3.90s; no cuts would keep margin roughly flat), purchase‑account accretion from Westfield about 4 bps in Q4 (combined deal impact roughly 5–6 bps) and minimal PAA from Bank Financial. Credit guidance: Q1 credit costs to approximate Q4 levels (Q4 provision $10.1M; Q4 annualized net charge‑offs 27 bps) and allowance coverage to remain stable as a percent of loans (ACL ~1.39% at 12/31). Fee income is guided to $71M–$73M for Q1 (including $14M–$16M FX and $19M–$21M leasing), noninterest expense $156M–$158M (including ~ $11M Westfield and ~ $10M Bank Financial impacts), with modeled cost savings expected to materialize later in 2026 after the March (Westfield) and June (Bank Financial) conversions and ~90‑day runouts; efficiency should settle in the mid‑50s (roughly 55%–56%, or low‑50s excluding Summit leasing effects).First Financial Bancorp Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
78
Positive
Balance Sheet
72
Positive
Cash Flow
69
Positive
| Breakdown | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | |||||
| Total Revenue | 1.26B | 1.23B | 1.12B | 774.65M | 654.72M |
| Gross Profit | 861.82M | 787.92M | 797.09M | 697.07M | 641.75M |
| EBITDA | 343.36M | 306.74M | 356.39M | 280.53M | 280.49M |
| Net Income | 255.60M | 228.83M | 255.86M | 217.61M | 205.16M |
Balance Sheet | |||||
| Total Assets | 21.13B | 18.57B | 17.53B | 17.00B | 16.33B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 4.15B | 3.36B | 4.03B | 4.01B | 4.64B |
| Total Debt | 1.19B | 1.10B | 1.28B | 1.63B | 706.03M |
| Total Liabilities | 18.36B | 16.13B | 15.26B | 14.96B | 14.07B |
| Stockholders Equity | 2.77B | 2.44B | 2.27B | 2.04B | 2.26B |
Cash Flow | |||||
| Free Cash Flow | 317.10M | 241.08M | 462.83M | 187.07M | 372.82M |
| Operating Cash Flow | 337.86M | 262.16M | 486.97M | 200.85M | 388.16M |
| Investing Cash Flow | -546.72M | -1.00B | -701.26M | -883.11M | -510.03M |
| Financing Cash Flow | 213.16M | 699.08M | 219.85M | 669.73M | 110.85M |
First Financial Bancorp Technical Analysis
Positive
29.22
Price Trends
28.29
Positive
26.79
Positive
25.60
Positive
Market Momentum
0.09
Negative
60.21
Neutral
88.55
Negative
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For FFBC, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 29.22 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 27.36, above the 50-day MA of 28.29, and above the 200-day MA of 25.60, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 0.09 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 60.21 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 88.55 is Negative, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for FFBC.
First Financial Bancorp Risk Analysis
First Financial Bancorp disclosed 42 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. First Financial Bancorp reported the most risks in the "Finance & Corporate" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks
First Financial Bancorp Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (68)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
78 Outperform | $3.06B | 9.29 | 9.77% | 3.79% | 5.15% | 16.42% | |
76 Outperform | $2.59B | 9.57 | 9.46% | 3.72% | -1.76% | 32.44% | |
72 Outperform | $2.88B | 8.86 | 10.62% | 4.69% | 38.34% | 89.73% | |
68 Neutral | $18.00B | 11.42 | 9.92% | 3.81% | 9.73% | 1.22% | |
65 Neutral | $2.62B | 10.48 | 10.98% | 2.38% | 17.95% | ― | |
65 Neutral | $2.49B | 9.60 | 8.02% | 3.27% | -1.58% | 6.34% | |
63 Neutral | $2.95B | 13.10 | 6.56% | 2.03% | 20.64% | ― |
* Financial Sector Average
FFBC
First Financial Bancorp
29.22
6.76
30.11%
FRME
First Merchants
40.85
5.30
14.91%
BANC
Banc of California
18.49
5.79
45.59%
PFS
Provident Financial Services
22.06
6.93
45.78%
TRMK
Trustmark
44.51
12.43
38.76%
WAFD
Washington Federal
32.82
7.30
28.63%
First Financial Bancorp Corporate Events
Business Operations and StrategyFinancial Disclosures
First Financial Bancorp Highlights Strong 2025 Financial Performance
Positive
Feb 2, 2026
In a fourth-quarter 2025 investor presentation, First Financial Bancorp’s executive team outlined a franchise characterized by more than 160 years of continuous operation, 141 consecutive quarters of profitability, and a conservative balance...
Business Operations and StrategyM&A Transactions
First Financial Bancorp Completes BankFinancial All-Stock Acquisition
Positive
Jan 2, 2026
On January 1, 2026, First Financial Bancorp completed its all-stock acquisition of Chicago-based BankFinancial Corporation and merged BankFinancial’s banking subsidiary into First Financial Bank, creating a combined institution with approxim...
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.