Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 64,253 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors trimmed its stake in First Financial Bancorp by 1.0%, selling 64,253 shares and leaving it with 6,213,106 shares (6.31%) valued at about $156.9 million; institutional investors now own 77.23% of the company.
• First Financial declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share (annualized $1.00) for a 3.7% yield, with record date March 2 and payment on March 16.
• The bank beat quarterly estimates with EPS of $0.80 vs. $0.78 and revenue of $251.3M vs. $249M; the stock trades at a P/E of 10.2 and carries a MarketBeat consensus target of $30.50 ("Moderate Buy").

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP decreased its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,213,106 shares of the bank's stock after selling 64,253 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 6.31% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $156,882,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,903 shares of the bank's stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 28,308 shares of the bank's stock valued at $715,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank raised its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 27,784 shares of the bank's stock valued at $702,000 after acquiring an additional 493 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 15.8% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,125 shares of the bank's stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 564 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 3.9% during the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 17,380 shares of the bank's stock worth $422,000 after acquiring an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company's stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Down 0.5%

First Financial Bancorp. stock opened at $27.12 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. First Financial Bancorp. has a fifty-two week low of $21.10 and a fifty-two week high of $31.38. The stock has a market cap of $2.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.20 and a beta of 0.97. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $27.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.25.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.02. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.77% and a net margin of 20.30%.The company had revenue of $251.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $249.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.71 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on FFBC shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded First Financial Bancorp. from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Hovde Group increased their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $30.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.20, for a total transaction of $604,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 61,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,868,051.20. The trade was a 24.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 11,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.80, for a total transaction of $308,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 229,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,147,678.80. This trade represents a 4.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 55,141 shares of company stock worth $1,585,829 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.13% of the company's stock.

About First Financial Bancorp.

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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