Versor Investments LP Has $1.04 Million Stock Holdings in First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

Versor Investments LP reduced its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 38.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 41,342 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 25,400 shares during the quarter. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $1,044,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $380,000. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 68.8% in the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 35,964 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $908,000 after purchasing an additional 14,664 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 19.4% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,903 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 2.9% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 54,045 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,365,000 after buying an additional 1,510 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 15.8% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,125 shares of the bank’s stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 564 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of FFBC stock opened at $31.16 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.71 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $26.74 and a 200-day moving average of $25.59. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12-month low of $21.10 and a 12-month high of $31.36.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.02. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.77% and a net margin of 20.30%.The business had revenue of $251.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $249.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.71 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.59%.

Insider Activity at First Financial Bancorp.

In related news, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.20, for a total value of $604,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 61,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,051.20. The trade was a 24.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 11,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.80, for a total transaction of $308,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 229,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,147,678.80. This represents a 4.77% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 44,821 shares of company stock worth $1,273,992. Company insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded First Financial Bancorp. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $28.00 price target (down from $30.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, October 27th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Hovde Group lifted their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Financial Bancorp. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.50.

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.