First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC Shares Purchased by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 176.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 80,826 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 51,627 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp owned 0.08% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $2,253,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 137.6% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 991 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 574 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 56.0% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,526 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 548 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 38.7% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,743 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 21.7% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,036 shares of the bank’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.93, for a total value of $309,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 243,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,539,434.94. This represents a 3.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Claude E. Davis sold 26,123 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.45, for a total transaction of $795,445.35. Following the transaction, the insider owned 30,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $925,984.50. The trade was a 46.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 41,126 shares of company stock worth $1,255,501 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock opened at $35.67 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $32.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.77. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12-month low of $23.06 and a 12-month high of $36.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $3.74 billion, a PE ratio of 12.60 and a beta of 0.92.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $264.17 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $270.29 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 11.09% and a net margin of 20.92%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 3.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is currently 35.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FFBC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Truist Financial increased their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Stephens started coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday, March 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded First Financial Bancorp. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.67.

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.