American Century Companies Inc. Sells 30,104 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

American Century Companies Inc. reduced its stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 7.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 359,812 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 30,104 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.38% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $8,729,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FFBC opened at $25.76 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.54 and a beta of 1.00. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1 year low of $21.10 and a 1 year high of $30.36. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

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

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is 37.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.