First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC Shares Sold by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

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 cut its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) by 2.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,469,590 shares of the bank's stock after selling 133,158 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 6.79% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $161,607,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 43.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,522 shares of the bank's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 24.4% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the bank's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 68.9% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,502 shares of the bank's stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. in the 1st quarter valued at $78,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 807.3% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,976 shares of the bank's stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 2,648 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on FFBC. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $28.00 target price (up previously from $27.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded First Financial Bancorp. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 20th. Stephens reaffirmed 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, Hovde Group began coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research 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 company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $29.40.

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bancorp.

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 12,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.79, for a total transaction of $309,875.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 240,891 shares in the company, valued at $5,971,687.89. This represents a 4.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

FFBC stock traded up $0.0390 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $26.5890. 61,476 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 412,309. The company has a market cap of $2.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.64 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1-year low of $21.10 and a 1-year high of $31.18. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.66.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This is an increase 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. First Financial Bancorp.'s payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

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.