First Financial Bancorp. (FFBC)
NASDAQ:FFBC
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First Financial Bancorp
(NASDAQ:FFBC)
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Rating:81Outperform
Price Target:
$35.00
â–²(17.61% Upside)
Action:Reiterated
Date:05/23/26
The score is driven primarily by strong underlying financial performance (solid profitability, improving leverage, and better recent cash generation) and a favorable valuation (low P/E and healthy dividend). Technicals are supportive with an uptrend and positive momentum, while the earnings call adds a constructive outlook (stable NIM and expected loan growth) tempered by credit/CRE competitive pressures and ICRE payoffs.
Positive Factors
Conservative Balance Sheet / Improving Leverage
Improving leverage and a conservatively positioned balance sheet reduce solvency risk and increase capital flexibility. Over the medium term this supports dividends, buybacks and measured M&A while providing a buffer against credit stress, underpinning durable franchise stability.
Negative Factors
Loan Growth Dependent on Acquisitions
Organic loan demand is weak and recent growth relied materially on acquired portfolios. That increases execution and integration risk and masks true demand trends; if M&A tapers or acquired loans reprice poorly, headline growth and interest income could slow materially.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Conservative Balance Sheet / Improving Leverage
Improving leverage and a conservatively positioned balance sheet reduce solvency risk and increase capital flexibility. Over the medium term this supports dividends, buybacks and measured M&A while providing a buffer against credit stress, underpinning durable franchise stability.
Read all positive factors
First Financial Bancorp (FFBC) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$3.22B
Dividend Yield3.79%
Average Volume (3M)901.26K
Price to Earnings (P/E)9.7
Beta (1Y)0.84
Revenue Growth8.30%
EPS Growth17.76%
CountryUS
Employees2,021
SectorFinancial
Sector Strength70
IndustryBanks - Regional
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)2.87
Shares Outstanding104,929,375
10 Day Avg. Volume793,967
30 Day Avg. Volume901,256
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 Cap1.24
Enterprise Value/Revenue2.99
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit4.27
Enterprise Value/Ebitda10.89
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$33.20Price Target Upside11.56% Upside
Rating ConsensusModerate Buy
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:Apr 23, 2026
(Q1-2026)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Jul 16, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call conveyed a predominantly positive performance: materially stronger earnings, resilient margin, record fee income, successful acquisitions and improving capital metrics outweighed the key challenges of ICRE payoff-driven loan pressure, a modest rise in net charge-offs tied to one relationship, and competitive/market uncertainties. Management provided constructive guidance for Q2 (mid-single-digit annualized loan growth, stable NIM, fee income and expense targets) and clear plans for deploying cash, realizing acquisition cost savings, and returning capital to shareholders.Positive Updates
Strong Adjusted Earnings
Adjusted net income of $80.5 million, adjusted EPS of $0.77, up 22% year-over-year; adjusted ROA of 1.45% and adjusted return on tangible common equity of ~19.2%.
Negative Updates
Loan Balances Weak Excluding Acquisitions
End-of-period loan balances increased $71 million including $228 million acquired from BankFinancial; excluding the acquisition, loans declined (annualized decrease ~4.7%) driven by payoff pressure in ICRE.
Read all updates
Q1-2026 Updates
Positive
Negative
Strong Adjusted Earnings
Adjusted net income of $80.5 million, adjusted EPS of $0.77, up 22% year-over-year; adjusted ROA of 1.45% and adjusted return on tangible common equity of ~19.2%.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
The company guided that, assuming no Fed rate cuts, net interest margin should hold roughly steady in a 3.99%–4.04% range next quarter, with mid‑single‑digit annualized loan growth expected in Q2 as pipelines convert and ICRE payoffs slow, core deposits roughly flat, and average deposit cost (1.83% in Q1) forecast to decline another 2–3 bps; they expect Q2 fee income of $75–$77 million (including $14–$16 million of foreign exchange and $20–$22 million of leasing revenue), noninterest expenses of $151–$154 million, credit costs to approximate Q1 levels (Q1 net charge‑offs were 35 bps, provision expense $8.5 million, ACL 1.36% of loans), and ACL coverage and NPAs (44 bps) to remain relatively stable, with full Westfield cost savings realized in Q3 and full BankFinancial savings in Q4 (tangible book value was $16.15 and TCE 7.88% at quarter end).First Financial Bancorp Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
78
Positive
Balance Sheet
80
Positive
Cash Flow
83
Very Positive
| Breakdown | TTM | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | ||||||
| Total Revenue | 1.33B | 1.26B | 1.23B | 1.12B | 774.65M | 654.72M |
| Gross Profit | 933.11M | 861.82M | 787.92M | 797.09M | 697.07M | 641.75M |
| EBITDA | 365.99M | 343.36M | 306.74M | 356.39M | 280.53M | 280.49M |
| Net Income | 278.76M | 255.60M | 228.83M | 255.86M | 217.61M | 205.16M |
Balance Sheet | ||||||
| Total Assets | 22.76B | 21.13B | 18.57B | 17.53B | 17.00B | 16.33B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 170.64M | 4.15B | 3.36B | 4.03B | 4.01B | 4.64B |
| Total Debt | 930.18M | 1.19B | 1.10B | 1.28B | 1.63B | 706.03M |
| Total Liabilities | 19.82B | 18.36B | 16.13B | 15.26B | 14.96B | 14.07B |
| Stockholders Equity | 2.94B | 2.77B | 2.44B | 2.27B | 2.04B | 2.26B |
Cash Flow | ||||||
| Free Cash Flow | 812.93M | 317.10M | 241.08M | 462.83M | 187.07M | 372.82M |
| Operating Cash Flow | 830.70M | 337.86M | 262.16M | 486.97M | 200.85M | 388.16M |
| Investing Cash Flow | -1.22B | -546.72M | -1.00B | -701.26M | -883.11M | -510.03M |
| Financing Cash Flow | 369.24M | 213.16M | 699.08M | 219.85M | 669.73M | 110.85M |
First Financial Bancorp Technical Analysis
Positive
29.76
Price Trends
29.10
Positive
28.42
Positive
26.59
Positive
Market Momentum
0.29
Positive
60.09
Neutral
87.43
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 29.76 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 30.27, above the 50-day MA of 29.10, and above the 200-day MA of 26.59, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 0.29 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 60.09 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 87.43 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
81 Outperform | $3.22B | 9.71 | 10.23% | 3.79% | 8.30% | 17.76% | |
74 Outperform | $2.87B | 8.69 | 10.98% | 4.69% | 8.48% | 111.63% | |
72 Outperform | $2.60B | 11.05 | 10.75% | 2.38% | 19.81% | 3091.83% | |
71 Outperform | $2.90B | 9.50 | 7.07% | 2.03% | 0.22% | 104.08% | |
70 Outperform | $2.60B | 9.04 | 8.36% | 3.27% | -8.79% | 15.89% | |
68 Neutral | $18.00B | 11.42 | 9.92% | 3.81% | 9.73% | 1.22% | |
65 Neutral | $2.53B | 20.98 | 8.03% | 3.72% | 0.97% | -4.32% |
* Financial Sector Average
FFBC
First Financial Bancorp
30.73
7.65
33.13%
FRME
First Merchants
40.14
4.18
11.61%
BANC
Banc of California
18.81
5.40
40.25%
PFS
Provident Financial Services
22.05
6.31
40.05%
TRMK
Trustmark
44.40
10.63
31.49%
WAFD
Washington Federal
35.24
7.71
27.99%
First Financial Bancorp Corporate Events
Business Operations and StrategyFinancial Disclosures
First Financial Highlights Q1 2026 Strategy and Performance
Positive
May 22, 2026
First Financial Bancorp’s executive team has prepared an investor presentation for first-quarter 2026 meetings with investors and analysts, highlighting the company’s 160-plus-year track record, conservative operating philosophy and 14...
Business Operations and StrategyStock BuybackFinancial Disclosures
First Financial Bancorp Posts Strong Q1 2026 Results
Positive
Apr 23, 2026
On April 23, 2026, First Financial Bancorp reported strong first-quarter 2026 results, with net income rising to $74.4 million, or $0.71 per diluted share, compared with $62.4 million, or $0.64 per share, in the prior quarter. The bank posted a ro...
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.