Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Sells 58,696 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

Key Points

• Bahl & Gaynor Inc. reduced its stake in First Financial Bancorp by 14.0%, selling 58,696 shares to hold a total of 361,364 shares, valued at approximately $9 million.
• Analysts have raised their target prices for First Financial Bancorp, with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increasing it to $32.00, reflecting a positive outlook for the company.
• First Financial Bancorp also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.25 per share, representing an annualized increase and a dividend yield of 3.8%.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. cut its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) by 14.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 361,364 shares of the bank's stock after selling 58,696 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned about 0.38% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $9,027,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of FFBC. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 43.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,522 shares of the bank's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 24.4% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the bank's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 68.9% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,502 shares of the bank's stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 1,021 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the 1st quarter worth about $78,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 36.5% in the 1st quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,570 shares of the bank's stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 954 shares during the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FFBC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen raised First Financial Bancorp. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 20th. Hovde Group initiated coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Tuesday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $31.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $28.00 target price (up previously from $27.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $29.40.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Up 4.1%

First Financial Bancorp. stock opened at $26.55 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.69. The company has a market cap of $2.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.62 and a beta of 0.98. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52-week low of $21.10 and a 52-week high of $31.18. 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $226.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $219.95 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 19.41%.During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. Analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. This is an increase from First Financial Bancorp.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. First Financial Bancorp.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.40%.

Insider Activity

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 12,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.79, for a total transaction of $309,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 240,891 shares in the company, valued at $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 available through this hyperlink. 1.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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