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Royce & Associates LP Purchases 10,070 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

First Financial Bancorp. logo with Finance background

Royce & Associates LP boosted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) by 9.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 111,992 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 10,070 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned about 0.12% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $2,798,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the bank's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 12,269 shares of the bank's stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 43.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,522 shares of the bank's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,879 shares of the bank's stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 11,585 shares of the bank's stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 822 shares during the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FFBC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of 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. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $28.75.

View Our Latest Stock Report on FFBC

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Up 4.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:FFBC opened at $24.86 on Monday. First Financial Bancorp. has a one year low of $21.10 and a one year high of $31.18. The company has a 50 day moving average of $24.41 and a 200-day moving average of $25.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.94 and a beta of 0.96.

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 company had revenue of $226.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $219.95 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is a boost from First Financial Bancorp.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.02%. First Financial Bancorp.'s payout ratio is currently 39.83%.

First Financial Bancorp. Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding FFBC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report).

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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