Maltese Capital Management LLC Purchases 85,417 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

Maltese Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 59.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 227,917 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 85,417 shares during the quarter. Maltese Capital Management LLC owned about 0.23% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $5,702,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 2.0% during the 4th 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 period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,243,149 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $156,205,000 after acquiring an additional 30,043 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,851,427 shares of the bank’s stock worth $121,383,000 after acquiring an additional 354,833 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,374,365 shares of the bank’s stock worth $59,415,000 after acquiring an additional 22,389 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,309,205 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,756,000 after acquiring an additional 42,116 shares during the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FFBC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stephens began coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Friday, March 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut First Financial Bancorp. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $34.00 price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Claude E. Davis sold 26,123 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.45, for a total value of $795,445.35. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.93, for a total value of $309,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 243,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,539,434.94. The trade was a 3.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 41,126 shares of company stock worth $1,255,501 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

Shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock opened at $31.71 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a PE ratio of 11.20 and a beta of 0.93. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12 month low of $22.93 and a 12 month high of $32.66.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.34%.

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.