Record Q3 EPS of $0.84, Dividend Raised, and Finward Deal Clears Federal Approval
FFBC sits 41% above its 52-week low of $23.06.
Summary
First Financial posted Q3 2026 net income of $81.2 million, or $0.77 per diluted share, with adjusted EPS of $0.84 — an 11% year-over-year increase and the highest in company history. Net interest margin expanded 9 bp to 4.07% on a fully tax-equivalent basis, and adjusted noninterest income hit a record $77.6 million, up $5.7 million (8%) from the linked quarter on strength in FX, wealth management, client derivatives and bankcard fees. Loans grew $170.2 million, or 4.9% annualized, and the board raised the quarterly dividend to $0.26 from $0.25, payable December 15. The company also said it received federal regulatory approval for the Finward Bancorp acquisition and expects to close January 1, 2027, pending state regulatory and Finward shareholder approvals — the shareholder vote is set for November 2. Two items temper the quarter: classified assets jumped to 1.26% of total assets on the downgrade of a single ICRE relationship, and tangible book value per share fell 5.9% to $15.65 as AOCI worsened with higher rates. Management guides to low-to-mid single digit loan growth for the rest of 2026 and expects expenses to moderate in Q4. The earnings call is October 28 at 8:30 a.m. ET.
At the time of this announcement, FFBC was trading at $32.53 on NASDAQ in the Finance sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $3.4B. The 52-week trading range was $23.06 to $36.25. This news item was assessed with positive market sentiment and an importance score of 8 out of 10. Source: PR Newswire.