Investing.com - Raymond James maintained its Market Perform rating on First Financial Bancorp (NASDAQ: FFBC ) stock Tuesday following the company’s announced acquisition of Westfield.

The transaction, which involves Westfield’s assets representing approximately 11% of the pro-forma combined entity, received favorable analysis from Raymond James despite its relatively small size. The deal is expected to cause 8% tangible book value dilution with a 2.9-year earnback period.

The acquisition is projected to deliver solid earnings per share accretion of 12% by 2026, with Raymond James noting the purchase price appears fair compared to recently announced transactions in the sector. The deal will expand First Financial (NYSE: SSB )’s geographic footprint into Northeast Ohio, where it previously lacked significant presence.

Westfield brings several specialty business lines to First Financial, including a nationwide insurance offering, private banking, and agency and RIA banking services, complementing First Financial’s existing specialty business operations. These additions align with First Financial’s strategic model of developing specialty lending lines with fee income components.

Raymond James expressed comfort with the credit risk profile of the transaction, citing Westfield’s favorable legacy historical credit metrics, including a 10-year pre-COVID average net charge-off rate of 10 basis points and current strong performance with low non-performing asset and net charge-off levels.

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