SG Americas Securities LLC Purchases 45,943 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 174.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 72,244 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 45,943 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC owned approximately 0.07% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $1,808,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 0.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,713,828 shares of the bank’s stock worth $270,524,000 after acquiring an additional 47,496 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 12.4% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 945,401 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $23,871,000 after acquiring an additional 104,550 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised 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 in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 4.6% in the third quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 739,666 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $18,677,000 after buying an additional 32,822 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 3.9% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 589,799 shares of the bank’s stock worth $14,733,000 after buying 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

Shares of FFBC stock opened at $28.08 on Monday. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12-month low of $21.10 and a 12-month high of $31.38. The company has a market capitalization of $2.94 billion, a PE ratio of 10.56 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $28.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $251.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $249.00 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.77% and a net margin of 20.30%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on FFBC shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Stephens started coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday, March 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.17.

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bancorp.

In related news, insider Gregory A. Harris sold 1,821 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.43, for a total value of $53,592.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 42,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,248,744.33. The trade was a 4.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.20, for a total transaction of $604,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 61,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,868,051.20. The trade was a 24.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,141 shares of company stock valued at $969,429. 1.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

First Financial Bancorp. Company Profile

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.