California State Teachers Retirement System Buys 34,441 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System increased its First Financial Bancorp. stake by 38.1%, purchasing 34,441 shares to own 124,914 shares worth approximately $3.48 million. Institutional investors collectively hold 77.23% of the company.
• First Financial Bancorp. reported quarterly EPS of $0.80, topping estimates of $0.78, while revenue rose 16.7% year over year to $264.17 million. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.26 per share, implying a 3.1% yield.
• Company insiders sold 17,440 shares worth $559,318 over the past three months. Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $33.67.

California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) by 38.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 124,914 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 34,441 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.12% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $3,483,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FFBC. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 557.5% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,042,913 shares of the bank's stock valued at $56,956,000 after buying an additional 1,732,223 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the 1st quarter worth about $34,058,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 194.9% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,248,076 shares of the bank's stock valued at $31,227,000 after acquiring an additional 824,920 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,617,522 shares of the bank's stock valued at $184,493,000 after acquiring an additional 374,373 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 67.2% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 907,478 shares of the bank's stock valued at $22,705,000 after acquiring an additional 364,597 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Scott T. Crawley sold 2,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.16, for a total value of $92,232.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 22,711 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $775,807.76. The trade was a 10.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.93, for a total transaction 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 represents a 3.94% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 17,440 shares of company stock worth $559,318 over the last three months. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FFBC opened at $33.66 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $33.23 and a 200 day moving average of $30.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 0.92. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12-month low of $23.06 and a 12-month high of $36.24.

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

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is an increase from First Financial Bancorp.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. First Financial Bancorp.'s payout ratio is presently 35.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Truist Financial boosted 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. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered First Financial Bancorp. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Financial Bancorp. presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $33.67.

First Financial Bancorp. 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.

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