Intech Investment Management LLC Increases Stake in First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

Key Points

• Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp by 70%, acquiring 30,677 additional shares, bringing its total holdings to 74,527 shares valued at approximately $1.86 million.
• CEO Archie M. Brown sold 12,500 shares, representing a 4.93% decrease in ownership, while Director Thomas Murray Obrien sold 7,383 shares, leading to a 13.71% decrease in their stake in the company.
• First Financial Bancorp recently announced a dividend increase to $0.25 per share, reflecting a yield of 3.9%, up from the previous $0.24 per share.

Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) by 70.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 74,527 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 30,677 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.08% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $1,862,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the bank's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $78,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 36.5% during the 1st quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,570 shares of the bank's stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 954 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 94.3% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,861 shares of the bank's stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 2,359 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.23% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on FFBC. Wall Street Zen upgraded First Financial Bancorp. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 20th. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday, June 27th. Hovde Group began coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $31.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $28.00 price objective (up previously from $27.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $29.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Financial Bancorp.

In other news, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 12,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.79, for a total transaction of $309,875.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 240,891 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,971,687.89. This trade represents a 4.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Thomas Murray Obrien sold 7,383 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.54, for a total transaction of $195,944.82. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 46,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,233,579.20. This trade represents a 13.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.13% of the company's stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ FFBC traded up $0.12 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $25.55. 495,411 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 479,211. The business's fifty day moving average is $25.24 and its 200 day moving average is $24.52. First Financial Bancorp. has a fifty-two week low of $21.10 and a fifty-two week high of $31.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.22 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.05. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 19.41% and a return on equity of 10.57%. The firm had revenue of $226.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $219.95 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.64 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. This is a positive change from First Financial Bancorp.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. First Financial Bancorp.'s payout ratio is 40.00%.

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.