First Financial Bank Trust Division Boosts Stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

First Financial Bank Trust Division raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) by 2.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 893,713 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 24,690 shares during the period. First Financial Bancorp. accounts for approximately 2.2% of First Financial Bank Trust Division's holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. First Financial Bank Trust Division owned 0.94% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $22,325,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FFBC. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 12,269 shares of the bank's stock valued at $330,000 after buying an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,879 shares of the bank's stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 11,585 shares of the bank's stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 822 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,340 shares of the bank's stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 945 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 109,583 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,943,000 after buying an additional 1,003 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.23% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider James R. Shank sold 7,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.92, for a total transaction of $189,392.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $277,633.72. This trade represents a 40.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 9,267 shares of company stock worth $228,972 in the last ninety days. 1.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

FFBC traded down $0.30 on Monday, hitting $23.63. 58,165 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 418,058. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $23.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.85 and a beta of 0.94. First Financial Bancorp. has a fifty-two week low of $20.59 and a fifty-two week high of $31.18.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.63. The company had revenue of $201.59 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $214.80 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.52% and a net margin of 18.67%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on FFBC shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "hold" rating and a $27.00 price target on the stock.

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.