First Financial Bancorp Q1 adjusted EPS rises 22%

First Financial Bancorp.

23/04/2026 21:31

Overview

U.S. regional bank's Q1 adjusted EPS rose 22% yr/yr, with record adjusted revenue

Loan growth modest, driven mainly by acquisitions

Board authorized new 5 mln share repurchase plan

Outlook

Company expects net interest margin to remain stable in near term, absent further Fed rate cuts

First Financial expects solid loan growth in second qtr as payoff activity normalizes

Company expects asset quality to gradually improve through 2026 despite economic uncertainty

Result Drivers

NET INTEREST MARGIN - Co said net interest margin remained resilient as lower deposit costs offset declining loan yields after Fed rate cut

FEE INCOME - Record wealth management and leasing business income, along with strong client derivative and foreign exchange income, drove noninterest income growth

ACQUISITION IMPACT - Modest loan growth mainly reflected the BankFinancial acquisition, while legacy loan balances declined due to elevated payoffs

Company press release: ID:nPn2RcMm4a

Key Details

Metric
Beat/Miss
Actual
Consensus Estimate
Q1 EPS
$0.71
Q1 Net Income
$74.45 mln
Q1 Net Interest Income
$189.61 mln
Q1 Basic EPS
$0.72
Q1 CET1 Capital Ratio
12.23%
Q1 Provision for credit losses
$6.03 mln


Analyst Coverage

The current average analyst rating on the shares is "buy" and the breakdown of recommendations is 3 "strong buy" or "buy", 4 "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 $33.00, about 13.6% above its April 22 closing price of $29.05

The stock recently traded at 9 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 8 three months ago

For questions concerning the data in this report, contact Estimates.Support@lseg.com. For any other questions or feedback, contact reuters.support@thomsonreuters.com.

(This story was created using Reuters automation and AI based on LSEG and company data. It was checked and edited by a Reuters journalist prior to publication.)