Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Has $168,000 Holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 72.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,077 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,977 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $168,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 6.7% in the third quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 573,241 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,236,000 after acquiring an additional 35,764 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 4.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,106,449 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $21,686,000 after acquiring an additional 48,501 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 10.0% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 29,376 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $576,000 after acquiring an additional 2,678 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 13.8% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 45,998 shares of the bank’s stock worth $902,000 after buying an additional 5,577 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC grew its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 64.7% during the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 156,000 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,705,000 after buying an additional 61,300 shares in the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FFBC. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $24.00 price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $26.00 price objective on the stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Up 3.9 %

Shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock opened at $21.89 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.14 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12-month low of $17.23 and a 12-month high of $24.99. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $21.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.55.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $202.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $207.95 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 22.94% and a return on equity of 12.16%. On average, analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.20%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.20%.

First Financial Bancorp. Profile

First Financial Bancorp. operates as the bank holding company for First Financial Bank that provides commercial banking and related services to individuals and businesses in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois. The company offers checking, savings, and money-market accounts; and accepts various deposit products, such as interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing accounts, time deposits, and cash management services for commercial customers.