Yousif Capital Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Yousif Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 2.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 35,290 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 856 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $882,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 16.1% in the 1st quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 42,580 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,064,000 after purchasing an additional 5,905 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 22.9% in the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,204 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $530,000 after buying an additional 3,953 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. in the first quarter valued at $234,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 3,493.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 38,020 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $950,000 after buying an additional 36,962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Bank Trust Division lifted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 893,713 shares of the bank’s stock worth $22,325,000 after buying an additional 24,690 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Up 0.6%

FFBC opened at $23.21 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.63 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. First Financial Bancorp. has a one year low of $20.89 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 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.63. The business had revenue of $201.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $214.80 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 18.65%. The company’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.59 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.14%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on FFBC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on 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. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th.

About First Financial Bancorp.

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.