Bridgeway Capital Management LLC Boosts Holdings in First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

Key Points

• Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 3.4%, owning approximately 0.74% of the bank's stock worth $17.5 million as of the recent SEC filing.
• Director Thomas Murray Obrien and CEO Archie M. Brown sold shares at average prices of $26.54 and $24.79 respectively, leading to a decrease in their ownership positions.
• First Financial Bancorp. announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.25 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $1.00 and a dividend yield of 3.8%.

Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) by 3.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 700,551 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 23,268 shares during the quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.74% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $17,500,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 55.0% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 97,727 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,441,000 after buying an additional 34,676 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 212.2% in the first quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 154,312 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,855,000 after acquiring an additional 104,884 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 94.3% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,861 shares of the bank's stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 2,359 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 138.6% in the first quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 22,608 shares of the bank's stock worth $565,000 after acquiring an additional 13,132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.0% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 749,100 shares of the bank's stock worth $18,713,000 after purchasing an additional 7,641 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.23% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Thomas Murray Obrien sold 7,383 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 represents a 13.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $5,971,687.89. The trade was a 4.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "hold" rating and a $27.00 target price on the stock. Hovde Group initiated coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of 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 upgraded First Financial Bancorp. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, July 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $28.00 target price (up from $27.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Financial Bancorp. currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $29.40.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

FFBC stock opened at $26.28 on Wednesday. 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. The stock has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.51 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a fifty day moving average of $25.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.60.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $226.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 prior year, the business posted $0.64 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

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

About First Financial Bancorp.

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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