Earnings Preview For First Financial Bancorp

First Financial Bancorp FFBC announces its next round of earnings this Thursday, Jan. 18. Here is Benzinga's everything-that-matters guide for the Q4 earnings announcement.

Earnings and Revenue

Analysts predict First Financial Bancorp will report earnings of 40 cents per share on revenue of $90.9 million.

First Financial Bancorp reported a per-share profit of 38 cents per share when it published results during the same quarter last year. Sales in that period totaled $87 million. The current analyst consensus estimate would represent a 5.26 percent increase in the company's earnings. Sales would be up 4.38 percent on a year-over-year basis.

The company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past like this:

Q4 EPS Estimate: 40 cents per share
Q4 Revenues Estimate: $90 million

Stock Performance

Shares of First Financial Bancorp were trading at $28.15 as of Jan. 18. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 4.07 percent. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders should be content going into this earnings release.

Analysts have adjusted their estimates higher for EPS and revenues over the past 90 days. The average rating by analysts on First Financial Bancorp stock is a Sell. The validity of this rating has maintained conviction over the past 90 days.