First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Holdings Trimmed by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas trimmed its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) by 39.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 53,061 shares of the bank's stock after selling 34,284 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned 0.06% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $1,325,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 43.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,522 shares of the bank's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 68.9% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,502 shares of the bank's stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 1,021 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 807.3% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,976 shares of the bank's stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 2,648 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 4th quarter valued at $233,000. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 4th quarter valued at $238,000. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FFBC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "hold" rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Financial Bancorp. presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $28.75.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Down 1.1%

FFBC stock opened at $25.45 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1 year low of $21.10 and a 1 year high of $31.18. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.26. The firm has a market cap of $2.44 billion, a PE ratio of 10.56 and a beta of 0.96.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63. The firm had revenue of $201.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $214.80 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 18.65% and a return on equity of 10.44%. The business's revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.'s dividend payout ratio is 39.83%.

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.

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