FFBC - First Financial gains after Piper Sandler upgrades on solid fundamentals

2023-07-10 12:25:47 ET

First Financial Bancorp. ( NASDAQ: FFBC ) rose ~6% on Monday noon after Piper Sandler upgraded the asset bank holding company on "solid fundamentals".

The agency raised its recommendation to Overweight from Neutral, and lifted the price target to $24 from $23. The stock is currently trading at $21.65.

The company's management sees net interest margin sliding to ~3.90%-4.00% by Q4'23/Q1'24. The management has embedded a hefty dose of conservatism in their margin outlook, the research report noted.

Also, First Financial "is one of the few banks in our coverage to escape unscathed so far this rate cycle", according to the report.

The sell-side analysts give the stock a Hold rating on average, with an average price target of $23.60.

Seeking Alpha's Quant Rating system also gives the stock a Hold rating.

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