Fisher Asset Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

Fisher Asset Management LLC reduced its position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 2.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 770,599 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 20,508 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned 0.80% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $18,695,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of FFBC. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 46.6% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,231 shares of the bank’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 709 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 21.3% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,670 shares of the bank’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 75.4% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,102 shares of the bank’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 1,333 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the 1st quarter valued at $78,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 94.3% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,861 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 2,359 shares during the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Monday, October 6th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Truist Financial boosted their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded First Financial Bancorp. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday. Zacks Research downgraded First Financial Bancorp. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $28.00 price objective (down previously from $30.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.50.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Up 1.9%

FFBC opened at $25.58 on Thursday. First Financial Bancorp. has a one year low of $21.10 and a one year high of $30.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.47 and a beta of 1.00.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The bank reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $234.01 million for the quarter. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 20.64%. Analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is 37.04%.

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.