First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC Shares Bought by Nordea Investment Management AB

Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 0.5% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 297,917 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,408 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $7,281,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.0% in the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 749,100 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $18,713,000 after acquiring an additional 7,641 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 3.4% in the first quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 700,551 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $17,500,000 after buying an additional 23,268 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the first quarter valued at approximately $16,615,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 3.9% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 589,799 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,733,000 after buying an additional 22,227 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 2.6% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 525,209 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,120,000 after buying an additional 13,341 shares in the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on FFBC. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Raymond James Financial set a $30.00 price objective on First Financial Bancorp. and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research cut First Financial Bancorp. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.83.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:FFBC opened at $24.30 on Tuesday. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $25.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.59. The stock has a market cap of $2.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.72 and a beta of 0.96. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52-week low of $21.10 and a 52-week high of $31.18.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 15th. The bank reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $179.99 million during the quarter. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 19.41%. On average, research analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Financial Bancorp.

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.79, for a total value of $309,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 240,891 shares in the company, valued at $5,971,687.89. This represents a 4.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas Murray Obrien sold 7,383 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.54, for a total value of $195,944.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 46,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,233,579.20. This trade represents a 13.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.