54,729 First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC Shares Sold by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al reduced its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 88.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,900 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 54,729 shares during the quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $216,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 137.6% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 991 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Nykredit A S acquired a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on FFBC shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Truist Financial upped their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $37.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Financial Bancorp. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.33.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

NASDAQ FFBC opened at $32.57 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.43 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s fifty day moving average is $32.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.11. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52-week low of $23.16 and a 52-week high of $36.24.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The bank reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $273.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $270.97 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 20.80% and a return on equity of 11.44%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.76 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 3.25 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.49%.

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bancorp.

In related news, CEO Archie Brown sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.93, for a total transaction of $164,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 238,758 shares in the company, valued at $7,862,300.94. The trade was a 2.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Thomas O’Brien sold 16,088 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.77, for a total value of $527,203.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 30,392 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $995,945.84. This trade represents a 34.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

First Financial Bancorp. Profile

First Financial Bancorp. is a Cincinnati-based bank holding company and the parent of First Financial Bank. Its banking roots date to 1863, when the institution that became First Financial Bank was established in Hamilton, Ohio.

Through First Financial Bank, the company provides commercial and consumer banking services, including business lending, deposit accounts, residential and personal lending, treasury management, and wealth management. It serves individuals, businesses, and organizations across Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois.

Archie Brown serves as the company’s chairman, president, and chief executive officer.