Victory Capital Management Inc. Trims Stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) by 6.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 354,212 shares of the bank's stock after selling 22,537 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.37% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $8,848,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in FFBC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 0.7% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,362,436 shares of the bank's stock valued at $36,622,000 after purchasing an additional 189,715 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 38.3% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,186,286 shares of the bank's stock valued at $31,887,000 after purchasing an additional 328,788 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 2.8% in the first quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 893,713 shares of the bank's stock valued at $22,325,000 after purchasing an additional 24,690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 677,283 shares of the bank's stock valued at $18,205,000 after purchasing an additional 20,701 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FFBC. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday, June 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded First Financial Bancorp. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, July 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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, Truist Financial assumed coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "hold" rating and a $27.00 price target on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $29.00.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

Shares of FFBC traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $25.22. The stock had a trading volume of 58,024 shares, compared to its average volume of 408,477. The firm has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.09 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $24.41 and a 200-day moving average price 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. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52 week low of $21.10 and a 52 week high of $31.18.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $226.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 business earned $0.64 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The business 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 $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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. First Financial Bancorp.'s payout ratio is 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.