GAMMA Investing LLC Has $950,000 Stock Holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) by 3,493.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 38,020 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 36,962 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC's holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $950,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FFBC. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 12,269 shares of the bank's stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,879 shares of the bank's stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 11,585 shares of the bank's stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 822 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 109,583 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,943,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 68.9% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,502 shares of the bank's stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FFBC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "hold" rating and a $27.00 target price for the company.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

FFBC stock traded up $0.05 on Friday, reaching $23.26. 236,206 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 417,819. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a PE ratio of 9.65 and a beta of 0.97. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12 month low of $20.89 and a 12 month high of $31.18. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $23.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.63. The company had revenue of $201.59 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. On average, research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.13%. First Financial Bancorp.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.