Sifting through countless of stocks in the Banks industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in City Holding Company or First Financial Bancorp. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how City Holding Company and First Financial Bancorp. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About City Holding Company and First Financial Bancorp.

City Holding Company operates as a financial holding company for City National Bank of West Virginia that provides banking, trust and investment management, and other financial solutions in the United States. It offers checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit and individual retirement accounts. The company also provides commercial and industrial loans that consist of loans to corporate and other legal entity borrowers primarily in small to mid-size industrial and commercial companies; commercial real estate loans comprising commercial mortgages, which are secured by nonresidential and multi-family residential properties; residential real estate loans to consumers for the purchase or refinance of residence; first-priority home equity loans; home equity lines of credit; amortized home equity loans; consumer loans that are secured and unsecured by automobiles, boats, recreational vehicles, certificates of deposit, and other personal property; and demand deposit account overdrafts, as well as owner-occupied real estate and construction, land development, and lines of credit. In addition, it offers mortgage banking services, including fixed and adjustable-rate mortgages, construction financing, land loans, production of conventional and government-insured mortgages, secondary marketing, and mortgage servicing. Further, the company provides treasury management, lockbox, and other cash management services; merchant credit card services; wealth management, trust, investment, and custodial services for commercial and individual customers; and corporate trust and institutional custody, financial and estate planning, and retirement plan services, as well as automated-teller-machine, interactive-teller-machine, mobile banking, interactive voice response systems, and credit and debit card services. The company was founded in 1957 and is headquartered in Charleston, West Virginia.

First Financial Bancorp. operates as the bank holding company for First Financial Bank that provides commercial banking and banking-related services to individuals and businesses in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois. The company offers checking and savings accounts; and accepts various deposit products, such as interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing accounts, time deposits, and cash management services for retail and commercial customers. It also provides real estate loans secured by residential property, such as one to four family residential housing units or commercial property comprising owner-occupied and/or investor income producing real estate consisting of apartments, shopping centers, and office buildings; commercial and industrial loans for various purposes, including inventory, receivables, and equipment, as well as equipment and leasehold improvement financing for franchisees; consumer loans, such as new and used vehicle loans, second mortgages on residential real estate and unsecured loans; and home equity lines of credit. In addition, the company offers secured commercial financing services to the insurance industry, registered investment advisors, certified public accountants, indirect auto finance companies, and restaurant franchisees. Further, it provides a range of trust and wealth management services, lease and equipment financing services, currency payments, foreign exchange hedging, commodities hedging, and other advisory products. First Financial Bancorp. was founded in 1863 and is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Latest Banks and City Holding Company, First Financial Bancorp. Stock News

As of August 14, 2026, City Holding Company had a $2.1 billion market capitalization, compared to the Banks median of $759.3 million. City Holding Company’s stock is up 23.6% in 2026, up 1.6% in the previous five trading days and up 18.39% in the past year.

Currently, City Holding Company’s price-earnings ratio is 16.1. City Holding Company’s trailing 12-month revenue is $320.5 million with a 41.1% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 0.9%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $9.264 per share for the current fiscal year. City Holding Company currently has a 2.4% dividend yield.

As of August 14, 2026, First Financial Bancorp. had a $3.6 billion market cap, putting it in the 62nd percentile of all stocks. First Financial Bancorp.’s stock is up 37.4% in 2026, up 2.1% in the previous five trading days and up 36.48% in the past year.

Currently, First Financial Bancorp.’s price-earnings ratio is 12.1. First Financial Bancorp.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $952.9 million with a 29.9% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 16.5%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $3.200 per share for the current fiscal year. First Financial Bancorp. currently has a 3.0% dividend yield.

How We Compare City Holding Company and First Financial Bancorp. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at City Holding Company and First Financial Bancorp.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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City Holding Company and First Financial Bancorp. Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
City Holding Company	CHCO	C
First Financial Bancorp.	FFBC	B

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

City Holding Company has a Value Score of 45, which is Average. First Financial Bancorp. has a Value Score of 64, which is Value.

The Value Stock Winner: First Financial Bancorp.

As you can clearly see from the Value Grade breakdown above, First Financial Bancorp. is considered to have better value than City Holding Company. For investors who focus solely on a company’s valuation, First Financial Bancorp. could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

City Holding Company and First Financial Bancorp. Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
City Holding Company	CHCO	A
First Financial Bancorp.	FFBC	A

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

City Holding Company has a Growth Score of 100, which is Very Strong. First Financial Bancorp. has a Growth Score of 95, which is Very Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Growth Grade breakdown above, both City Holding Company and First Financial Bancorp. have a grade of A. For investors who focus solely on a company’s upward growth, further research should be conducted into both companies’ other financial metrics before deciding whether to invest.

City Holding Company and First Financial Bancorp.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
City Holding Company	CHCO	B
First Financial Bancorp.	FFBC	D

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

City Holding Company has a Earnings Estimate Score of 66, which is Positive. First Financial Bancorp. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 38, which is Negative.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: City Holding Company

As you can clearly see from the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, City Holding Company has a better Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade than First Financial Bancorp.. For those who are specifically looking for companies with better short-term prospects when compared to other companies in the same industry, City Holding Company could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other City Holding Company and First Financial Bancorp. Grades

In addition to Estimate Revisions, Growth and Value, A+ Investor also provides grades for Momentum and Quality.

Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the ranking of key metrics. Specifically, the quality grade is the percentile rank of the composite of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and F-Score.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether City Holding Company and First Financial Bancorp. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, City Holding Company or First Financial Bancorp. Stock?

Overall, City Holding Company stock has a Value Score of 45, Growth Score of 100 and Estimate Revisions Score of 66.

First Financial Bancorp. stock has a Value Score of 64, Growth Score of 95 and Estimate Revisions Score of 38.

Comparing City Holding Company and First Financial Bancorp.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.