Gator Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

Gator Capital Management LLC raised its position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 33.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 296,090 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 74,170 shares during the period. First Financial Bancorp. comprises approximately 1.5% of Gator Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Gator Capital Management LLC’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $7,408,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FFBC. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 67.2% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 907,478 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $22,705,000 after buying an additional 364,597 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the first quarter worth approximately $5,714,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 215,357 shares during the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 47.7% during the third quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 559,488 shares of the bank’s stock worth $14,127,000 after purchasing an additional 180,575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 110.5% during the second quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 324,852 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,881,000 after purchasing an additional 170,540 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Up 1.6%

First Financial Bancorp. stock opened at $32.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 0.93. First Financial Bancorp. has a fifty-two week low of $22.93 and a fifty-two week high of $32.31. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $30.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.24.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FFBC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Stephens initiated coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday, March 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 price target for the company. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Four 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.00.

Insider Activity at First Financial Bancorp.

In related news, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.93, for a total transaction of $309,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 243,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,539,434.94. This trade represents a 3.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Claude E. Davis sold 26,123 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.45, for a total value of $795,445.35. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 30,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $925,984.50. The trade was a 46.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 41,126 shares of company stock valued at $1,255,501 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

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.