First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC Stock Holdings Lifted by Intech Investment Management LLC

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 boosted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) by 70.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 74,527 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 30,677 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC owned about 0.08% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $1,862,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of FFBC. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 43.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,522 shares of the bank's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 24.4% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the bank's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the 1st quarter valued at about $78,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 36.5% in the 1st quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,570 shares of the bank's stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 954 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 94.3% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,861 shares of the bank's stock valued at $121,000 after acquiring an additional 2,359 shares during the period. 77.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bancorp.

In other news, Director Thomas Murray Obrien sold 7,383 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director owned 46,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,233,579.20. The trade was a 13.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 12,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 240,891 shares in the company, valued at $5,971,687.89. This represents a 4.93% 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 Performance

Shares of FFBC stock remained flat at $26.36 during trading hours on Friday. 2,214,832 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 442,896. 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. has a twelve month low of $21.10 and a twelve month high of $31.18. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $25.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.52. The company has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a PE ratio of 10.54 and a beta of 1.02.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $226.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $219.95 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a $0.25 dividend. This is an increase 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 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.'s dividend payout ratio is 40.00%.

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.