Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Has $1.71 Million Stock Holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp cut its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 1.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 83,783 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,270 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp owned approximately 0.09% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $1,713,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 74.9% during the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 2,335 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the first quarter valued at $55,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the second quarter valued at $82,000. Finally, Advisor Group Holdings Inc. raised its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 27.4% during the first quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 5,273 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 1,134 shares during the period. 75.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on FFBC shares. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $24.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Friday, July 21st. StockNews.com started coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.00.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FFBC opened at $20.92 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $19.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. First Financial Bancorp. has a one year low of $17.23 and a one year high of $26.72. The company has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.42 and a beta of 1.08.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 25th. The bank reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67. The firm had revenue of $288.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $209.25 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 12.99% and a net margin of 24.93%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.61 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 30th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.40%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.62%.

First Financial Bancorp. Profile

First Financial Bancorp. operates as the bank holding company for First Financial Bank that provides commercial banking and related services to individuals and businesses in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois. The company accepts various deposit products, such as interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing accounts, time deposits, and cash management services for commercial customers.