PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Grows Stock Position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 4.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,923 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 424 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $273,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 43.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,522 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 68.9% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,502 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 807.3% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,976 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 2,648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at First Financial Bancorp.

In other news, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.79, for a total value of $309,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 240,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,971,687.89. This represents a 4.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

Shares of FFBC opened at $24.66 on Friday. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1-year low of $21.10 and a 1-year high of $31.18. The stock has a market cap of $2.36 billion, a PE ratio of 9.86 and a beta of 0.98. 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 fifty day moving average price of $24.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.78.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.05. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 19.41% and a return on equity of 10.57%. The firm had revenue of $226.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $219.95 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This is a positive change from First Financial Bancorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $28.00 price target (up previously from $27.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Financial Bancorp. currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.00.

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.