Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Cuts Stock Position in First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP has reduced its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 2.0%, selling 133,158 shares during the first quarter, now owning approximately 6.79% of the company valued at $161.6 million.
• The bank's quarterly earnings revealed an EPS of $0.74, exceeding estimates, and has announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.24 to $0.25, representing a 4.0% yield.
• Multiple hedge funds, including Russell Investments Group and Public Sector Pension Investment Board, have adjusted their stakes in First Financial Bancorp., indicating active institutional interest in the company.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lowered its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) by 2.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,469,590 shares of the bank's stock after selling 133,158 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 6.79% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $161,607,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 43.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,522 shares of the bank's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 464 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the bank's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 68.9% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,502 shares of the bank's stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the first quarter worth $78,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 807.3% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,976 shares of the bank's stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 2,648 shares in the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on FFBC. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 20th. Hovde Group assumed coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $27.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $29.40.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Down 0.2%

FFBC traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $26.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 552,501 shares, compared to its average volume of 438,687. The stock has a market cap of $2.54 billion, a PE ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 0.98. First Financial Bancorp. has a fifty-two week low of $21.10 and a fifty-two week high of $31.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The business's 50-day moving average is $24.67 and its 200-day moving average is $24.65.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $219.95 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bancorp.

In other news, Director Thomas Murray Obrien sold 7,383 shares of the business'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 sale, the director directly owned 46,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,233,579.20. The trade was a 13.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 12,500 shares of the company's 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 owned 240,891 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,971,687.89. This represents a 4.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,670 shares of company stock worth $524,826 in the last ninety days. 1.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

First Financial Bancorp. Company Profile

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.