Not a good buy right now: price (~30.13) is extended and sitting near/above first resistance (R1 ~29.94) with next resistance at R2 ~30.86, limiting immediate upside.
Momentum is bullish, but RSI is extremely overbought (RSI_6 ~87), which often precedes short-term pullbacks—unfavorable for an impatient entry.
Wall Street targets were nudged up, but all recent notes remain Hold/Market Perform/Sector Perform, implying fair value rather than a fresh upside call.
If already owned, holding makes sense into the post-earnings strength; as a new buyer, the risk/reward at current levels is not attractive.
Momentum: MACD histogram positive and expanding (0.309) supports continued bullish momentum.
Overbought: RSI_6 at 87.04 signals an overbought/overextended condition (higher near-term pullback risk).
Levels: Pivot 28.47; Support S1 26.99; Resistance R1 29.94 (already exceeded) and R2 30.86 (nearby ceiling).
Quant-style short-horizon expectation from similar patterns: modest next-day drift but weaker 1-week/1-month bias (-1.98% / -1.2%), aligning with “overbought cool-off” risk.
Options Data
Bullish
Open Interest Put-Call Ratio
Bullish
Option Volume Put-Call Ratio
Positioning/Sentiment: Very call-heavy open interest (OI put/call 0.24) suggests bullish/less-hedged sentiment.
Activity: Extremely low volume (1 contract total; 0 puts) — sentiment signal is thin due to minimal trading.
Volatility: 30D IV 48.28 vs historical vol 29.44 (implied pricing elevated vs realized), while IV percentile ~25 suggests IV is not high relative to its own history.
Technical Summary
Sell
5
Buy
11
Positive Catalysts
Record Q4 2025 earnings headline and strong profitability metrics cited (ROA 1.52% in news summary).
Full-year adjusted net income up 21.7% (news summary), reinforcing a constructive narrative post-results.
Analysts raised price targets after Q4, indicating improved confidence in near-term fundamentals.
Hedge fund and insider trend data shows “Neutral,” reducing fear of near-term distribution pressure.
Neutral/Negative Catalysts
is already around the newly raised $30 targets from Truist and RBC; only KBW sits higher at $
Latest quarter YoY: net income (-3.84%) and EPS (-5.88%) declined despite revenue growth, a potential quality/margin concern.
Net income: $62.39M, -3.84% YoY (profitability slipped YoY).
EPS: $0.64, -5.88% YoY (earnings per share declined YoY).
Takeaway: growth is present on revenue, but earnings power was weaker YoY in the latest quarter, supporting a “fair value/hold” stance at an overbought price.
Growth
Profitability
Efficiency
Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends
Recent direction: modestly positive revisions to price targets, but ratings unchanged and cautious.
2026-02-02 Truist: PT raised to $30 (from $29), rating Hold.
Wall Street pros: acknowledges solid quarter/fees and healthy organic loan/deposit trends.
Wall Street cons: rating restraint (Hold/Perform) implies upside is not compelling at current levels; the stock is trading close to consensus fair-value targets.
Politicians/Influential buying/selling: No recent congress trading data available (and no politician activity indicated).
Wall Street analysts forecast FFBC stock price to fall over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for FFBC is 29 USD with a low forecast of 28 USD and a high forecast of 31 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
4 Analyst Rating
Wall Street analysts forecast FFBC stock price to fall over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for FFBC is 29 USD with a low forecast of 28 USD and a high forecast of 31 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
1 Buy
3 Hold
0 Sell
Hold
Current: 30.060
Low
28
Averages
29
High
31
Current: 30.060
Low
28
Averages
29
High
31
Truist
Brian Foran
Hold
maintain
$29 -> $30
AI Analysis
2026-02-02
Reason
Truist
Brian Foran
Price Target
$29 -> $30
AI Analysis
2026-02-02
maintain
Hold
Reason
Truist analyst Brian Foran raised the firm's price target on First Financial Bancorp to $30 from $29 and keeps a Hold rating on the shares. The firm is updating its model following the company's Q4 results, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
RBC Capital
Jon Arfstrom
Sector Perform
maintain
$28 -> $30
2026-01-30
Reason
RBC Capital
Jon Arfstrom
Price Target
$28 -> $30
2026-01-30
maintain
Sector Perform
Reason
RBC Capital analyst Jon Arfstrom raised the firm's price target on First Financial Bancorp to $30 from $28 and keeps a Sector Perform rating on the shares. The company reported a nice quarter with solid fee performance and consistent other fundamentals, and while Westfield contributed to the results, organic loan and deposit growth remained healthy, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
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