First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank reduced its position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 184,943 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 2,800 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.19% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $4,620,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 43.9% in 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. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 24.4% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the bank’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 68.9% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,502 shares of the bank’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the 1st quarter valued at $78,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 807.3% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,976 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 2,648 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FFBC. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $28.00 price target (up from $27.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, July 28th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded First Financial Bancorp. from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 20th. Hovde Group assumed coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial assumed 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 for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.40.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

Shares of FFBC opened at $25.13 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52 week low of $21.10 and a 52 week high of $31.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $24.48 and a 200-day moving average of $24.74. The firm has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.05 and a beta of 0.98.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $219.95 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. This is an increase from First Financial Bancorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is presently 38.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.79, for a total value of $309,875.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 240,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,971,687.89. This trade 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 available at this link. 1.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.