Invesco Ltd. Lowers Position in First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. has decreased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 2.3%, selling 10,229 shares and now holds approximately 437,595 shares valued at around $10.93 million.
• CEO Archie M. Brown sold 12,500 shares of First Financial Bancorp. at an average price of $24.79, reducing his ownership to 240,891 shares valued at approximately $5.97 million.
• First Financial Bancorp. recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, an increase from the previous $0.24, which represents an annual yield of 3.8%.

Invesco Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 437,595 shares of the bank's stock after selling 10,229 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 0.46% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $10,931,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 43.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,522 shares of the bank's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 68.9% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,502 shares of the bank's stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 1,021 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the first quarter worth $78,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 36.5% during the first quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,570 shares of the bank's stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 954 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company's stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ FFBC traded down $0.26 during trading on Thursday, hitting $26.53. 382,884 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 415,833. The business's fifty day moving average is $24.82 and its 200 day moving average is $24.68. 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 $2.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.61 and a beta of 0.98. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.74 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $219.95 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is an increase from First Financial Bancorp.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on FFBC shares. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "hold" rating and a $27.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, July 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Hovde Group started coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday, June 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Financial Bancorp. has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $29.40.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 12,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $5,971,687.89. This represents a 4.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Thomas Murray Obrien sold 7,383 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.54, for a total transaction of $195,944.82. Following the transaction, the director owned 46,480 shares in the company, valued at $1,233,579.20. This represents a 13.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,670 shares of company stock worth $524,826 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.13% of the company's stock.

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.