First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC Shares Sold by Wellington Management Group LLP

Key Points

• Wellington Management cut its First Financial Bancorp. stake by 50.6% in the second quarter, selling 613,225 shares and retaining 598,943 shares, or 0.57% of the company. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 77.23% of FFBC.
• Analyst sentiment remains moderately positive: FFBC has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $33.67, although one firm downgraded the stock to “Hold.” Shares recently traded near $32.98.
• First Financial Bancorp. reported quarterly EPS of $0.80, ahead of the $0.78 consensus, while revenue rose 16.7% year over year to $264.17 million. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.26, equivalent to a 3.2% yield.

Wellington Management Group LLP decreased its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) by 50.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 598,943 shares of the bank's stock after selling 613,225 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned 0.57% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $20,262,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 137.6% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 991 shares of the bank's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the second quarter valued at $57,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 38.7% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,743 shares of the bank's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 486 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co bought a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the fourth quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. bought a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the second quarter valued at about $81,000. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on FFBC shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $33.67.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

Shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock opened at $32.98 on Monday. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12-month low of $23.06 and a 12-month high of $36.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a PE ratio of 11.65 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock's fifty day moving average is $33.87 and its 200-day moving average is $31.10.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $264.17 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $270.29 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 11.13% and a net margin of 20.77%.First Financial Bancorp.'s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. This is a positive change from First Financial Bancorp.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. First Financial Bancorp.'s dividend payout ratio is 36.75%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Scott T. Crawley sold 2,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.16, for a total value of $92,232.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 22,711 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $775,807.76. This trade represents a 10.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO James M. Anderson sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.73, for a total transaction of $134,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 114,537 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,863,333.01. This represents a 3.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,788 shares of company stock valued at $919,006. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

First Financial Bancorp. Company Profile

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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