VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Makes New Investment in First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems purchased 61,629 shares of First Financial Bancorp. worth approximately $2.1 million, while institutional investors collectively owned 77.23% of the company.
• First Financial Bancorp. exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $0.80 versus the $0.78 consensus, although revenue of $264.17 million fell short of estimates. Analysts project full-year EPS of $3.22.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.26 per share, equivalent to a $1.04 annualized payout and a 3.2% yield. Analyst sentiment remains a “Moderate Buy”, with an average price target of $33.67.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 61,629 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $2,085,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al owned 0.06% of First Financial Bancorp. at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 55.0% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 97,727 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,441,000 after buying an additional 34,676 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 56,205 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,404,000 after acquiring an additional 2,458 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 3.9% during the first 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 increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 571.4% during the first 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 raised its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 6.0% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 318,298 shares of the bank's stock valued at $7,951,000 after purchasing an additional 17,911 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.23% of the company's stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:FFBC opened at $32.50 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a PE ratio of 11.48 and a beta of 0.91. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1 year low of $23.06 and a 1 year high of $36.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm's 50-day moving average is $33.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.17.

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

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. This is a boost from First Financial Bancorp.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. First Financial Bancorp.'s dividend payout ratio is 36.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial upped their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $33.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Financial Bancorp.

In other news, insider Scott T. Crawley sold 2,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.16, for a total transaction of $92,232.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 22,711 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $775,807.76. This represents a 10.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.93, for a total value of $164,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 238,758 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,862,300.94. The trade was a 2.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 27,788 shares of company stock worth $919,006. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

First Financial Bancorp. Company Profile

First Financial Bancorp. is a bank holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Through its principal subsidiary, First Financial Bank, the company provides banking and financial services to businesses, individuals, and community organizations.

First Financial Bank offers commercial and retail banking products, including business loans, commercial real estate financing, consumer lending, residential mortgage services, deposit accounts, treasury management, and online and mobile banking.

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