Renaissance Technologies LLC Purchases New Position in First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

Key Points

• Renaissance Technologies acquired 272,318 shares of First Financial Bancorp., valued at approximately $7.6 million, giving it a 0.26% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 77.23% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with the stock carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $33.67; recent targets ranged from $32 to $36.
• First Financial Bancorp. exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $0.80 versus $0.78, while revenue rose 16.7% year over year. The bank also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.26 per share, implying a 3.0% annual yield.

Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 272,318 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $7,592,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.26% of First Financial Bancorp. at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 55.0% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 97,727 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,441,000 after buying an additional 34,676 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 56,205 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,404,000 after acquiring an additional 2,458 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 589,799 shares of the bank's stock worth $14,733,000 after acquiring an additional 22,227 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 571.4% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,412 shares of the bank's stock worth $185,000 after acquiring an additional 6,308 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 318,298 shares of the bank's stock worth $7,951,000 after purchasing an additional 17,911 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at First Financial Bancorp.

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider Scott T. Crawley sold 2,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.16, for a total transaction of $92,232.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 22,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $775,807.76. This trade represents a 10.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.93, for a total transaction of $309,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 243,758 shares in the company, valued at $7,539,434.94. This trade represents a 3.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 17,440 shares of company stock worth $559,318 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.08% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, June 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $33.67.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:FFBC opened at $34.14 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.06 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12-month low of $23.06 and a 12-month high of $36.24. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.29.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.02. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 11.13% and a net margin of 20.77%.The firm had revenue of $264.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $270.29 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This is an increase from First Financial Bancorp.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. First Financial Bancorp.'s payout ratio is presently 35.34%.

About First Financial Bancorp.

First Financial Bancorp NASDAQ: FFBC is a bank holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the parent of First Financial Bank. The company provides a comprehensive suite of commercial and consumer banking services through a network of more than 100 full-service banking centers and mortgage offices across Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. Its core mission centers on delivering personalized relationship banking to businesses, individuals and public sector clients.

First Financial Bank's product portfolio includes deposit solutions such as checking, savings and money market accounts, alongside a range of lending offerings that cover commercial and industrial loans, real estate and construction financing, home mortgages and home equity lines of credit.

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