First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC Stock Holdings Reduced by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 55.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,019 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 22,253 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $455,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 0.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,340,113 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,777,000 after buying an additional 10,470 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 9.4% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 840,851 shares of the bank’s stock worth $20,399,000 after acquiring an additional 72,165 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 22.7% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 786,319 shares of the bank’s stock worth $19,076,000 after purchasing an additional 145,575 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 706,844 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $17,148,000 after purchasing an additional 6,293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 22,227 shares during the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

FFBC opened at $26.84 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $25.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.94 and a beta of 0.99. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12-month low of $21.10 and a 12-month high of $29.21.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The bank reported $0.76 earnings per share 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 analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on FFBC shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Hovde Group initiated coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, October 6th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $28.00 price target (down previously from $30.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 11,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.80, for a total transaction of $308,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 229,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,147,678.80. This represents a 4.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

About First Financial Bancorp.

First Financial Bancorp (NASDAQ: FFBC) is a bank holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the parent of First Financial Bank. The company provides a comprehensive suite of commercial and consumer banking services through a network of more than 100 full-service banking centers and mortgage offices across Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. Its core mission centers on delivering personalized relationship banking to businesses, individuals and public sector clients.

First Financial Bank’s product portfolio includes deposit solutions such as checking, savings and money market accounts, alongside a range of lending offerings that cover commercial and industrial loans, real estate and construction financing, home mortgages and home equity lines of credit.