Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 16,456 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp cut its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,049,180 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 16,456 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 1.10% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $26,209,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 12,269 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $330,000 after acquiring an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 43.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,522 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 464 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,879 shares of the bank’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 11,585 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 822 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 109,583 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,943,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003 shares during the period. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

Shares of FFBC stock opened at $24.80 on Thursday. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12 month low of $21.10 and a 12 month high of $31.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.29 and a beta of 0.96. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $24.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.23.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63. The business had revenue of $201.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $214.80 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 18.65% and a return on equity of 10.44%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is 39.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on FFBC. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered First Financial Bancorp. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a “hold” rating and a $27.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.75.

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.