Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Purchases 104,884 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

Key Points

• Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC significantly increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp by 212.2%, owning 154,312 shares valued at approximately $3.86 million after purchasing an additional 104,884 shares.
• The bank reported earnings of $0.74 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.69 EPS, with revenues of $226.30 million.
• First Financial Bancorp. declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25, up from the previous $0.24, representing an annual yield of 3.7%.

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) by 212.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 154,312 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 104,884 shares during the quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC owned 0.16% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $3,855,000 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 FFBC. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,362,436 shares of the bank's stock worth $36,622,000 after acquiring an additional 189,715 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $233,000. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $247,000. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 81,999 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,204,000 after acquiring an additional 10,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 53,747 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,445,000 after acquiring an additional 2,070 shares during the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, Director Thomas Murray Obrien sold 7,383 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 owned 46,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,233,579.20. The trade was a 13.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 12,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.79, for a total transaction of $309,875.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 240,891 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,971,687.89. This trade represents a 4.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.13% of the company's stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock traded down $0.45 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $25.90. 248,580 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 412,695. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1-year low of $21.10 and a 1-year high of $31.18. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $25.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a PE ratio of 10.36 and a beta of 1.02.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 19.41% and a return on equity of 10.57%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is a boost from First Financial Bancorp.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. First Financial Bancorp.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on FFBC. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "hold" rating and a $27.00 target price on the stock. Hovde Group initiated coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $31.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target 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. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Financial Bancorp. currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $29.40.

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.