Intech Investment Management LLC Purchases 22,380 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 104.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 43,850 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 22,380 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $1,179,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in FFBC. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 28,862 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $728,000 after purchasing an additional 3,747 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 73.1% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 153,281 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,867,000 after purchasing an additional 64,745 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,013,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,282,349 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,354,000 after purchasing an additional 23,472 shares during the period. Finally, Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 166,170 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,192,000 after purchasing an additional 33,464 shares during the period. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bancorp.

In other news, insider James R. Shank sold 7,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.92, for a total value of $189,392.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $277,633.72. This represents a 40.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

First Financial Bancorp. stock opened at $24.75 on Friday. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52 week low of $20.59 and a 52 week high of $31.18. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market cap of $2.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.31 and a beta of 0.99.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.06. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.52% and a net margin of 18.67%. On average, research analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.88%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on FFBC. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Friday, January 24th.

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.