Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Reduces Stake in First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management has reduced its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.5%, now owning 1,284,761 shares valued at approximately $32.1 million.
• The bank recently declared a quarterly dividend increase to $0.25 per share, up from $0.24, representing a 4.0% dividend yield.
• First Financial Bancorp. beat analysts' earnings expectations with reported EPS of $0.74, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.69.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) by 1.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,284,761 shares of the bank's stock after selling 20,161 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 1.35% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $32,093,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 10,923 shares of the bank's stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. grew its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 22.3% during the 1st quarter. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. now owns 45,466 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,136,000 after purchasing an additional 8,300 shares in the last quarter. Vestcor Inc acquired a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the 1st quarter worth $169,000. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the 1st quarter worth $78,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 69,414 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,734,000 after purchasing an additional 1,516 shares in the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on FFBC. Truist Financial began coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "hold" rating and a $27.00 price objective for the company. 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 began coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Tuesday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $29.40.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 240,891 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,971,687.89. This represents a 4.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.13% of the company's stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FFBC traded up $1.04 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $26.55. The stock had a trading volume of 680,021 shares, compared to its average volume of 448,801. The firm has a market cap of $2.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.62 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. First Financial Bancorp. has a fifty-two week low of $21.10 and a fifty-two week high of $31.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $24.61 and a 200-day moving average of $24.72.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 19.41%.The company had revenue of $226.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $219.95 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

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