Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Holdings in First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,713,828 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 47,496 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.11% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $270,524,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Denali Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 9.1% in the third quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 286,500 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,234,000 after acquiring an additional 23,975 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 29,272 shares of the bank’s stock worth $739,000 after purchasing an additional 1,422 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 83,382 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,105,000 after purchasing an additional 5,263 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 14.4% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 373,524 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,431,000 after purchasing an additional 47,142 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 29.0% during the third quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 274,410 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,929,000 after buying an additional 61,675 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Down 4.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:FFBC opened at $28.07 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market capitalization of $2.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.55 and a beta of 1.00. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52-week low of $21.10 and a 52-week high of $31.38. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.13.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $251.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $249.00 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 10.77%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.71 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FFBC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings raised First Financial Bancorp. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Truist Financial upped their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Hovde Group lifted their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Financial Bancorp. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.50.

Insider Activity

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.20, for a total value of $604,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 61,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,868,051.20. This trade represents a 24.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 11,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.80, for a total transaction of $308,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 229,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,147,678.80. This represents a 4.77% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 54,821 shares of company stock valued at $1,576,792 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.13% 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.