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

Nordea Investment Management AB trimmed its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 13.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 268,755 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 40,269 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $6,746,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FFBC. Bogart Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. during the third quarter worth $25,000. First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. MAI Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 530.6% during the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,545 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 2,741.3% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,790 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 1,727 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 3rd quarter worth about $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bancorp.

In related news, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 20,000 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.20, for a total value of $604,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 61,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,051.20. The trade was a 24.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Karen B. Woods sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.28, for a total transaction of $302,800.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 63,954 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,936,527.12. This trade represents a 13.52% 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 32,141 shares of company stock valued at $969,429. 1.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ FFBC opened at $27.70 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a PE ratio of 10.41 and a beta of 0.97. First Financial Bancorp. has a twelve month low of $21.10 and a twelve month high of $31.38. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.30.

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

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was 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 is 37.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

About First Financial Bancorp.

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.