First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC Stock Position Lifted by First Financial Bank Trust Division

First Financial Bank Trust Division increased its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 836,135 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,763 shares during the period. First Financial Bancorp. comprises approximately 2.0% of First Financial Bank Trust Division’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. First Financial Bank Trust Division’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $28,286,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $936,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,309,205 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,756,000 after purchasing an additional 42,116 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 174.7% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 72,244 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,808,000 after buying an additional 45,943 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,929,185 shares of the bank’s stock worth $273,448,000 after buying an additional 215,357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 114.5% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 84,595 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,117,000 after acquiring an additional 45,149 shares during the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FFBC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Financial Bancorp. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.67.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FFBC opened at $34.14 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $32.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.29. First Financial Bancorp. has a twelve month low of $23.06 and a twelve month high of $36.24. The company has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.06 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $264.17 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $270.29 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 11.13% and a net margin of 20.77%.The company’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. Research analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. This is a positive change from First Financial Bancorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is 35.34%.

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bancorp.

In related news, CFO James M. Anderson sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.73, for a total transaction of $134,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 114,537 shares in the company, valued at $3,863,333.01. This represents a 3.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.93, for a total transaction of $309,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 243,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,539,434.94. This trade represents a 3.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,440 shares of company stock worth $559,318. Insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Company Profile

First Financial Bancorp (NASDAQ: FFBC) is a bank holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the parent of First Financial Bank. The company provides a comprehensive suite of commercial and consumer banking services through a network of more than 100 full-service banking centers and mortgage offices across Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. Its core mission centers on delivering personalized relationship banking to businesses, individuals and public sector clients.

First Financial Bank’s product portfolio includes deposit solutions such as checking, savings and money market accounts, alongside a range of lending offerings that cover commercial and industrial loans, real estate and construction financing, home mortgages and home equity lines of credit.