Russell Investments Group Ltd. Buys 2,063 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 17.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,648 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,063 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $341,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 58,585 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 10,923 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 24.4% during 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 43.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 36.5% during the 1st quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,570 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 954 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock opened at $26.48 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.54 billion, a PE ratio of 10.59 and a beta of 1.02. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52-week low of $21.10 and a 52-week high of $31.18. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.59.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $226.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $219.95 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 19.41% and a return on equity of 10.57%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. This is a boost from First Financial Bancorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.40%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 240,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,971,687.89. The trade was a 4.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas Murray Obrien sold 7,383 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.54, for a total transaction of $195,944.82. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 46,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,233,579.20. The trade was a 13.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $28.00 price target (up from $27.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target 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. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Financial Bancorp. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.40.

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.