First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Shares Purchased by Palisades Investment Partners LLC

Palisades Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) by 11.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 150,711 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 15,876 shares during the period. First Financial Bancorp. makes up about 1.7% of Palisades Investment Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Palisades Investment Partners LLC owned about 0.16% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $4,051,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 511,868 shares of the bank's stock valued at $13,759,000 after purchasing an additional 20,636 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,892,158 shares of the bank's stock valued at $292,781,000 after purchasing an additional 72,367 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,304,922 shares of the bank's stock valued at $35,076,000 after purchasing an additional 22,573 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 82.8% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,150 shares of the bank's stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 2,333 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inceptionr LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 4th quarter valued at $432,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.23% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on FFBC. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $33.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $27.00 target price on the stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

FFBC traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $23.99. 292,049 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 420,451. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $23.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.00 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1-year low of $20.59 and a 1-year high of $31.18.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share 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 return on equity of 10.52% and a net margin of 18.67%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider James R. Shank sold 7,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.92, for a total transaction of $189,392.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $277,633.72. This trade represents a 40.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

First Financial Bancorp. 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.