Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $184.49 Million Stake in First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp by 6.0% in the first quarter, ending with 6.62 million shares valued at about $184.5 million.
• First Financial Bancorp reported Q2 earnings of $0.80 per share, topping estimates, while revenue rose 16.7% from a year earlier. The bank also posted solid profitability metrics, including a 11.13% return on equity.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.26 per share, equal to an annualized yield of 3.1%. Analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $33.67.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) by 6.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,617,522 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 374,373 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 6.31% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $184,493,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FFBC. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $936,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,309,205 shares of the bank's stock worth $32,756,000 after acquiring an additional 42,116 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 174.7% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 72,244 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,808,000 after acquiring an additional 45,943 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,929,185 shares of the bank's stock worth $273,448,000 after acquiring an additional 215,357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 114.5% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 84,595 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,117,000 after purchasing an additional 45,149 shares during the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider Claude E. Davis sold 26,123 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.45, for a total value of $795,445.35. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,410 shares in the company, valued at $925,984.50. This trade represents a 46.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO James M. Anderson sold 4,263 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $127,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 118,537 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,556,110. This represents a 3.47% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 41,126 shares of company stock valued at $1,255,501. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Up 0.2%

NASDAQ:FFBC opened at $33.87 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.97 and a beta of 0.92. First Financial Bancorp. has a twelve month low of $23.06 and a twelve month high of $36.24. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $32.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $264.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $270.29 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 11.13% and a net margin of 20.77%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. This is an increase from First Financial Bancorp.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. First Financial Bancorp.'s payout ratio is currently 35.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FFBC. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Truist Financial raised 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 report on Friday, July 10th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $33.67.

First Financial Bancorp. Company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding FFBC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.