Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP Has $220,000 Position in First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

Key Points

• Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP has reduced its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 60.8%, now owning 8,796 shares worth approximately $220,000.
• CEO Archie M. Brown sold 12,500 shares of the company's stock, which represents a 4.93% decrease in his ownership.
• First Financial Bancorp. recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25, increasing its annual dividend yield to 3.8%.

Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP decreased its position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) by 60.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,796 shares of the bank's stock after selling 13,654 shares during the period. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP's holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $220,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 43.9% during the first 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 last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,021 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the first quarter worth about $78,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 36.5% during the 1st quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,570 shares of the bank's stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 954 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company's stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:FFBC traded down $0.20 during trading on Thursday, hitting $26.59. 86,104 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 413,964. The stock has a market cap of $2.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.65 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $24.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.68. 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. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $226.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. First Financial Bancorp.'s payout ratio is presently 40.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FFBC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective 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 reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday, June 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded First Financial Bancorp. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, July 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $28.00 price objective (up previously from $27.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Hovde Group began coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $31.00 price objective 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 MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $29.40.

Insider Activity 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 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 240,891 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,971,687.89. The trade was a 4.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Thomas Murray Obrien sold 7,383 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.54, for a total value of $195,944.82. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 46,480 shares in the company, valued at $1,233,579.20. This trade represents a 13.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,670 shares of company stock worth $524,826 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.13% of the company's stock.

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.