KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Grows Stock Position in First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 12.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,313 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $493,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FFBC. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the first quarter worth about $404,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 3.9% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 38,956 shares of the bank’s stock worth $973,000 after buying an additional 1,451 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 4.5% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 53,488 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,336,000 after buying an additional 2,315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 2.6% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 525,209 shares of the bank’s stock worth $13,120,000 after buying an additional 13,341 shares in the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

NASDAQ FFBC opened at $23.72 on Friday. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1-year low of $21.10 and a 1-year high of $31.18. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $25.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.49 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 15th. The bank reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 19.41%.The company had revenue of $179.99 million for the quarter. On average, equities analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. This is a boost from First Financial Bancorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, Director Thomas Murray Obrien sold 7,383 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.54, for a total value of $195,944.82. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 46,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,233,579.20. This represents a 13.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 12,500 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 240,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,971,687.89. The trade was a 4.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial set a $30.00 price target on First Financial Bancorp. and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Hovde Group began coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Monday, October 6th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday, June 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, 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 research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.83.

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.