Bank of America Corp DE Cuts Holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Bank of America Corp DE lowered its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 830,310 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 4,047 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.87% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $22,319,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FFBC. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 140.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 190,742 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,812,000 after acquiring an additional 111,309 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 4.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 491,232 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,394,000 after purchasing an additional 20,449 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 37.7% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,251 shares of the bank’s stock worth $464,000 after purchasing an additional 4,726 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,340 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 945 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 82.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,150 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $138,000 after buying an additional 2,333 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider James R. Shank sold 7,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.92, for a total value of $189,392.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,141 shares in the company, valued at $277,633.72. This represents a 40.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

FFBC opened at $25.10 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.46 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $23.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.43. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52-week low of $20.59 and a 52-week high of $31.18.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.63. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 18.67% and a return on equity of 10.52%. The company had revenue of $201.59 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $214.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. First Financial Bancorp.’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.82%. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is presently 39.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on FFBC shares. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a “hold” rating and a $27.00 price objective for the company.

First Financial Bancorp. Company 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 offers checking, savings, and money-market accounts; and accepts various deposit products, such as interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing accounts, time deposits, and cash management services for commercial customers.