First Financial Q2 EPS beats estimates

Overview

• First Financial Q2 adjusted EPS of $0.74 beats analyst expectations, per LSEG data

• Co reports record quarterly revenue of $226.3 mln, up 5% year-over-year

• Co increases quarterly dividend by 4.2% to $0.25 per share

Outlook

• Company expects higher loan growth in H2 2025

• First Financial anticipates net charge-offs of 20-25 bps for the remainder of 2025

• First Financial expects asset quality to remain stable in 2025

Result Drivers

• NET INTEREST MARGIN - Driven by 12 bp decline in funding costs and 5 bp increase in asset yields

• NONINTEREST INCOME - Double-digit growth in mortgage, bankcard, and leasing business income

• LOAN GROWTH - 2% annualized growth, offset by elevated prepayments in commercial real estate

Key Details

Analyst Coverage

• The current average analyst rating on the shares is "hold" and the breakdown of recommendations is 1 "strong buy" or "buy", 5 "hold" and no "sell" or "strong sell"

• The average consensus recommendation for the banks peer group is "buy."

• Wall Street's median 12-month price target for First Financial Bancorp is $28.50, about 14.7% above its July 23 closing price of $24.32

• The stock recently traded at 9 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 9 three months ago

Press Release: ID:nPn4YZy8ya