Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $1.22 Million Stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund decreased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 51,552 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 3,842 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $1,224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 23.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,993 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the fourth quarter worth about $101,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,189 shares of the bank’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,028 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 72.6% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,077 shares of the bank’s stock worth $168,000 after purchasing an additional 2,977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. in the 4th quarter valued at about $208,000. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $26.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Up 0.9 %

FFBC opened at $22.57 on Friday. First Financial Bancorp. has a twelve month low of $17.23 and a twelve month high of $24.99. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $21.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.66. The stock has a market cap of $2.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.10 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. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The bank reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 20.74% and a return on equity of 11.35%. The company had revenue of $287.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $201.79 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.08%. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is 37.10%.

First Financial Bancorp. Company 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.