First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC Shares Sold by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. decreased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 6.6%, now holding 311,451 shares valued at approximately $7.78 million.
• First Financial Bancorp. recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.24 to $0.25 per share, representing a yield of 3.8%.
• In its last earnings report, First Financial Bancorp. surpassed analysts' expectations with an EPS of $0.74, beating the consensus estimate by $0.05.

Raymond James Financial Inc. cut its position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) by 6.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 311,451 shares of the bank's stock after selling 21,954 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.33% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $7,780,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 2.2% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 389,916 shares of the bank's stock valued at $9,740,000 after purchasing an additional 8,334 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 17.8% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 13,648 shares of the bank's stock valued at $341,000 after purchasing an additional 2,063 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 0.7% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 58,585 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 27.3% in the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 302,830 shares of the bank's stock valued at $7,565,000 after purchasing an additional 64,882 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. during the first quarter worth about $16,615,000. 77.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on FFBC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price 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. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $28.00 target price (up from $27.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, July 28th. Hovde Group began coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $31.00 target price on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "hold" rating and a $27.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $29.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 12,500 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas Murray Obrien sold 7,383 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 46,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,233,579.20. This trade represents a 13.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.13% of the company's stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

Shares of FFBC stock opened at $26.48 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.59 and a beta of 1.02. The business's 50 day moving average is $25.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.59. 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. has a 12-month low of $21.10 and a 12-month high of $31.18.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $226.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. Analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The firm 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 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%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.40%.

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.

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