Bank of New York Mellon Corp Invests $40.81 Million in First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon acquired 1.21 million shares of First Financial Bancorp. worth approximately $40.8 million, representing a 1.15% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 77.23% of the company.
• First Financial Bancorp. reported quarterly EPS of $0.80, beating estimates by $0.02, while revenue rose 16.7% year over year to $264.17 million. The stock opened at $32.82, with analysts assigning a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and a $33.67 target price.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend from $0.25 to $0.26 per share, equivalent to a 3.2% annualized yield. Meanwhile, insiders sold 32,788 shares worth about $1.06 million over the past 90 days.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,206,482 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $40,815,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 1.15% of First Financial Bancorp. as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 38.7% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,743 shares of the bank's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the fourth quarter worth $50,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,309 shares of the bank's stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,053 shares of the bank's stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 772 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Financial Bancorp.

In related news, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.93, for a total value of $309,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 243,758 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,539,434.94. This trade represents a 3.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Thomas Murray Obrien sold 16,088 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.77, for a total transaction of $527,203.76. Following the sale, the director owned 30,392 shares of the company's stock, valued at $995,945.84. This trade represents a 34.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 32,788 shares of company stock worth $1,063,656 over the last 90 days. 1.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

NASDAQ FFBC opened at $32.82 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $33.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.60 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1-year low of $23.06 and a 1-year high of $36.24.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $264.17 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $270.29 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 11.13% and a net margin of 20.77%.First Financial Bancorp.'s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This is an increase from First Financial Bancorp.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. First Financial Bancorp.'s payout ratio is currently 36.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on FFBC. Wall Street Zen cut First Financial Bancorp. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.

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