Rhumbline Advisers Decreases Holdings in First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

Key Points

• Rhumbline Advisers sold 12,660 shares of First Financial Bancorp, decreasing its holdings by 4.5% during the first quarter, now owning 271,655 shares worth $6.79 million.
• First Financial Bancorp recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.25, representing a 3.9% dividend yield and a total annualized dividend of $1.00.
• The bank reported Q2 earnings of $0.74 per share, beating estimates, with revenues of $226.3 million, exceeding expectations of $219.95 million.

Rhumbline Advisers cut its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) by 4.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 271,655 shares of the bank's stock after selling 12,660 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.28% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $6,786,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First Financial Bank Trust Division grew its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 893,713 shares of the bank's stock worth $22,325,000 after acquiring an additional 24,690 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 749,100 shares of the bank's stock worth $18,713,000 after purchasing an additional 7,641 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 700,551 shares of the bank's stock valued at $17,500,000 after acquiring an additional 23,268 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 65.2% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 669,409 shares of the bank's stock valued at $17,994,000 after acquiring an additional 264,083 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 1st quarter valued at $16,615,000. 77.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on FFBC shares. Stephens restated 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 shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 20th. 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. Hovde Group began coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Financial Bancorp. has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $29.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 12,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.79, for a total value of $309,875.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 240,891 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,971,687.89. This trade represents a 4.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $195,944.82. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 46,480 shares in the company, valued at $1,233,579.20. This represents a 13.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.13% of the company's stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

Shares of FFBC stock traded up $0.68 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $26.23. The stock had a trading volume of 149,381 shares, compared to its average volume of 416,974. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $25.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.51 billion, a PE ratio of 10.49 and a beta of 1.02. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $226.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $219.95 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 19.41% and a return on equity of 10.57%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a $0.25 dividend. 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.'s payout ratio is 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.