AlphaQuest LLC Has $291,000 Stake in First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC reduced its holdings in First Financial Bancorp by 80.7%, selling 48,648 shares and owning 11,645 shares worth $291,000 at the end of the first quarter.
• First Financial Bancorp recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.24 to $0.25 per share, representing an annualized amount of $1.00 and a yield of 3.8%.
• Analyst ratings for First Financial Bancorp show a consensus of "Hold" with an average target price of $29.40, while recent earnings reported a EPS of $0.74, exceeding expectations.

AlphaQuest LLC lowered its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) by 80.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,645 shares of the bank's stock after selling 48,648 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $291,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Martingale Asset Management L P boosted its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 56.3% during the first quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 31,447 shares of the bank's stock valued at $786,000 after purchasing an additional 11,322 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 2.2% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 389,916 shares of the bank's stock valued at $9,740,000 after acquiring an additional 8,334 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 17.8% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 13,648 shares of the bank's stock worth $341,000 after purchasing an additional 2,063 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 0.7% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 58,585 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,463,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the period. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 27.3% in the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 302,830 shares of the bank's stock worth $7,565,000 after purchasing an additional 64,882 shares in the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at First Financial Bancorp.

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 12,500 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.79, for a total transaction of $309,875.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 240,891 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,971,687.89. The trade was a 4.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas Murray Obrien sold 7,383 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.54, for a total value of $195,944.82. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 46,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,233,579.20. This trade represents a 13.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on FFBC. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday, June 27th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "hold" rating and a $27.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded First Financial Bancorp. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 20th. Finally, Hovde Group initiated coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $29.40.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:FFBC traded down $0.06 on Wednesday, reaching $26.22. 44,374 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 412,952. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52-week low of $21.10 and a 52-week high of $31.18. The business has a fifty day moving average of $25.04 and a 200-day moving average of $24.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.50 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $226.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $219.95 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 19.41% and a return on equity of 10.57%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This is a positive change from First Financial Bancorp.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. First Financial Bancorp.'s payout ratio is 38.40%.

First Financial Bancorp. Profile

First Financial Bancorp. operates as the bank holding company for First Financial Bank that provides commercial banking and related services to individuals and businesses in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois. The company offers checking, savings, and money-market accounts; and accepts various deposit products, such as interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing accounts, time deposits, and cash management services for commercial customers.