Teacher Retirement System of Texas Lowers Holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas reduced its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) by 39.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 53,061 shares of the bank's stock after selling 34,284 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned 0.06% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $1,325,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 43.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,522 shares of the bank's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,892,158 shares of the bank's stock valued at $292,781,000 after buying an additional 72,367 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,304,922 shares of the bank's stock valued at $35,076,000 after buying an additional 22,573 shares in the last quarter. 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 valued at $1,445,000 after buying an additional 2,070 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 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 valued at $22,325,000 after buying an additional 24,690 shares in the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

Shares of FFBC stock traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $24.80. The stock had a trading volume of 338,077 shares, compared to its average volume of 417,714. The business's fifty day moving average is $24.42 and its 200-day moving average is $25.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.29 and a beta of 0.96. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1-year low of $21.10 and a 1-year high of $31.18.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63. The business had revenue of $201.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $214.80 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 18.65%. The company's revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.59 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FFBC. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective 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. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered First Financial Bancorp. from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "hold" rating and a $27.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $28.75.

First Financial Bancorp. 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.