Vident Advisory LLC Purchases 13,132 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

Key Points

• Vident Advisory LLC increased its holdings in First Financial Bancorp by 138.6%, acquiring an additional 13,132 shares, bringing its total to 22,608 shares worth $565,000.
• First Financial Bancorp recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.25 per share, representing a 3.8% dividend yield based on an annualized dividend of $1.00.
• Analysts currently have a consensus rating of "Hold" on First Financial Bancorp with an average price target of $29.40, following recent upgrades from several equity research firms.

Vident Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) by 138.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,608 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 13,132 shares during the quarter. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $565,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 2.6% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 525,209 shares of the bank's stock worth $13,120,000 after acquiring an additional 13,341 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position 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 period. MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. in the first quarter valued at $543,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 43.8% in the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 36,408 shares of the bank's stock valued at $909,000 after purchasing an additional 11,098 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the first quarter worth $418,000. 77.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FFBC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $28.00 target price (up previously from $27.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, July 28th. 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 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 20th. Hovde Group started coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $31.00 target price for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of 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 given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $29.40.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Down 1.7%

NASDAQ FFBC traded down $0.44 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $25.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 383,806 shares, compared to its average volume of 466,445. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52-week low of $21.10 and a 52-week high of $31.18. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $25.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.55. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.36 and a beta of 1.02.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $226.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $219.95 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. Research analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. This is a positive change from First Financial Bancorp.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. First Financial Bancorp.'s payout ratio is 40.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Thomas Murray Obrien sold 7,383 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.54, for a total value of $195,944.82. Following the transaction, the director owned 46,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,233,579.20. This represents a 13.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.79, for a total value of $309,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.13% of the company's stock.

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.