First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC Stock Position Lifted by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 14.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 373,524 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 47,142 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $9,431,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bogart Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 2,741.3% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,790 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 1,727 shares during the last quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the third quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew 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 worth $65,000 after buying an additional 469 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

Shares of FFBC stock opened at $30.31 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 company has a market cap of $2.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.39 and a beta of 1.00. First Financial Bancorp. has a twelve month low of $21.10 and a twelve month high of $31.38. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.79.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 10.77%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.71 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Hovde Group increased their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $28.00 price objective (down previously from $30.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded First Financial Bancorp. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective 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. 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 11,500 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.80, for a total value of $308,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 229,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,147,678.80. The trade was a 4.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 20,000 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.20, for a total transaction of $604,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 61,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,868,051.20. This represents a 24.43% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 44,821 shares of company stock valued at $1,273,992 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

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.