First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Shares Acquired by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank increased its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 43.8% during the first quarter, now owning $909,000 worth of shares.
• First Financial Bancorp. reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.74 for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.69.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25, boosting its annualized yield to 4.2%, up from the previous $0.24 dividend.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) by 43.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 36,408 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 11,098 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $909,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 38.3% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,186,286 shares of the bank's stock worth $31,887,000 after acquiring an additional 328,788 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the fourth quarter worth about $7,827,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 65.2% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 669,409 shares of the bank's stock worth $17,994,000 after acquiring an additional 264,083 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 713.5% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 265,843 shares of the bank's stock worth $7,149,000 after acquiring an additional 233,163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 98.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 447,824 shares of the bank's stock worth $12,038,000 after acquiring an additional 221,683 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.23% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FFBC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial began coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "hold" rating and a $27.00 price target on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday, June 27th. Wall Street Zen raised First Financial Bancorp. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, July 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $28.00 target price (up previously from $27.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, July 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, First Financial Bancorp. presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $29.00.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FFBC traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $23.69. The company had a trading volume of 184,341 shares, compared to its average volume of 378,087. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1-year low of $21.10 and a 1-year high of $31.18. The firm has a market cap of $2.27 billion, a PE ratio of 9.48 and a beta of 0.98. The business's 50 day moving average price is $24.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.92. 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. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 19.41%. The company had revenue of $226.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $219.95 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This is a boost 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 4.2%. First Financial Bancorp.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.40%.

About First Financial Bancorp.

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.