Strs Ohio Takes $382,000 Position in First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

Key Points

• Strs Ohio has taken a new stake in First Financial Bancorp, acquiring 15,300 shares valued at approximately $382,000 during the first quarter of 2023.
• Several institutional investors, including GAMMA Investing LLC and Quarry LP, have also increased their holdings in First Financial Bancorp, indicating strong institutional interest with 77.23% of the stock owned by institutional investors.
• First Financial Bancorp announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.25 per share, reflecting a positive change from the previous dividend of $0.24, with a yield of 3.8%.

Strs Ohio bought a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 15,300 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $382,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FFBC. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 43.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,522 shares of the bank's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 24.4% in the first 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. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the first quarter valued at approximately $78,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 36.5% in the first quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,570 shares of the bank's stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 954 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 94.3% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,861 shares of the bank's stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 2,359 shares during the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bancorp.

In other news, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 12,500 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 240,891 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,971,687.89. This trade represents a 4.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas Murray Obrien sold 7,383 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.54, for a total value of $195,944.82. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 46,480 shares in the company, valued at $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. Company insiders own 1.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $29.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday, June 27th. Hovde Group assumed coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $28.00 price target (up from $27.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, July 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised First Financial Bancorp. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, July 20th. 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 MarketBeat.com, First Financial Bancorp. presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $29.40.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of FFBC stock opened at $26.02 on Tuesday. 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. has a 52-week low of $21.10 and a 52-week high of $31.18. The company has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a PE ratio of 10.41 and a beta of 1.02. The business's fifty day moving average is $25.27 and its 200 day moving average is $24.50.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.05. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 19.41%.The company had revenue of $226.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $219.95 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. This is a positive change from First Financial Bancorp.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. First Financial Bancorp.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.00%.

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.

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.