Two Sigma Investments LP Sells 29,327 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Two Sigma Investments LP reduced its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 66.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,494 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 29,327 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $390,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 511,868 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,759,000 after purchasing an additional 20,636 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,892,158 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $292,781,000 after purchasing an additional 72,367 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,304,922 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $35,076,000 after purchasing an additional 22,573 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 53,747 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,445,000 after purchasing an additional 2,070 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 221.9% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,717 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,873 shares during the period. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

Shares of FFBC stock opened at $24.41 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.17 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.94. First Financial Bancorp. has a one year low of $20.59 and a one year high of $31.18.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63. The company had revenue of $201.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $214.80 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.52% and a net margin of 18.67%. The business’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.83%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider James R. Shank sold 7,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.92, for a total transaction of $189,392.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $277,633.72. This represents a 40.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold 9,267 shares of company stock valued at $228,972 over the last 90 days. 1.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FFBC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $27.00 price target on the stock.

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.