First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 1.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,720,103 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 172,055 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 11.25% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $267,788,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 38.3% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,186,286 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,887,000 after buying an additional 328,788 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 65.2% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 669,409 shares of the bank’s stock worth $17,994,000 after buying an additional 264,083 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 713.5% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 265,843 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,149,000 after buying an additional 233,163 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 98.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 447,824 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,038,000 after buying an additional 221,683 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,362,436 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,622,000 after buying an additional 189,715 shares during the period. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bancorp.

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.79, for a total transaction of $309,875.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 240,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,971,687.89. This trade represents a 4.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:FFBC opened at $24.66 on Monday. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52 week low of $21.10 and a 52 week high of $31.18. The company’s 50 day moving average is $24.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a market cap of $2.36 billion, a PE ratio of 9.86 and a beta of 0.98.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $226.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $219.95 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. Equities analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This is an increase from First Financial Bancorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is 38.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

First Financial Bancorp. 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.