Rafferty Asset Management LLC Has $1.56 Million Stock Holdings in First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in First Financial Bancorp by 22.7%, selling 18,435 shares, bringing its ownership down to approximately 0.07% of the company valued at $1.56 million.
• CEO Archie M. Brown and Director Thomas Murray Obrien both sold shares of First Financial Bancorp, resulting in a 4.93% and 13.71% decrease in their respective stock positions.
• First Financial Bancorp. recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.25 per share, representing an annual yield of 3.8%.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) by 22.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 62,619 shares of the bank's stock after selling 18,435 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned about 0.07% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $1,564,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 16.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,362,436 shares of the bank's stock worth $36,622,000 after acquiring an additional 189,715 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division raised its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 2.8% during the first quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 893,713 shares of the bank's stock valued at $22,325,000 after buying an additional 24,690 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 677,283 shares of the bank's stock valued at $18,205,000 after buying an additional 20,701 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 65.2% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 669,409 shares of the bank's stock valued at $17,994,000 after buying an additional 264,083 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the first quarter valued at about $16,615,000. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bancorp.

In related news, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 12,500 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.79, for a total transaction of $309,875.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 240,891 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,971,687.89. This trade represents a 4.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas Murray Obrien sold 7,383 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.54, for a total value of $195,944.82. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FFBC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Truist Financial initiated coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "hold" rating and a $27.00 target price on the stock. Hovde Group initiated coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $31.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $28.00 target price (up from $27.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded First Financial Bancorp. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, July 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $29.40.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

Shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock traded down $0.32 during trading on Friday, reaching $26.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 316,241 shares, compared to its average volume of 452,800. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The business's fifty day moving average price is $25.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.57. The firm has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.55 and a beta of 1.02. First Financial Bancorp. has a one year low of $21.10 and a one year high of $31.18.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $226.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $219.95 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 19.41%.During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This is a boost from First Financial Bancorp.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. First Financial Bancorp.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.