Teacher Retirement System of Texas Sells 3,533 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

Teacher Retirement System of Texas cut its stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 6.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 49,528 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 3,533 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned 0.05% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $1,202,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 749,100 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $18,713,000 after acquiring an additional 7,641 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 700,551 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $17,500,000 after acquiring an additional 23,268 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the 1st quarter valued at about $16,615,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 589,799 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,733,000 after acquiring an additional 22,227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 525,209 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,120,000 after purchasing an additional 13,341 shares during the period. 77.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FFBC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective (down from $30.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Zacks Research lowered First Financial Bancorp. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded First Financial Bancorp. from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, First Financial Bancorp. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.50.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Up 1.6%

NASDAQ FFBC opened at $23.96 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.29 billion, a PE ratio of 8.87 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12 month low of $21.10 and a 12 month high of $31.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $25.27 and a 200-day moving average of $24.72.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The bank reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $234.01 million during the quarter. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 20.64%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.04%.

Insider Activity at First Financial Bancorp.

In other news, Director Thomas Murray Obrien sold 7,383 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,233,579.20. This represents a 13.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. The trade was a 4.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

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.