Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New Investment in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 47,600 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,130,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.05% of First Financial Bancorp. as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FFBC. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 6.7% in the third quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 573,241 shares of the bank's stock valued at $11,236,000 after buying an additional 35,764 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,106,449 shares of the bank's stock worth $21,686,000 after purchasing an additional 48,501 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 29,376 shares of the bank's stock valued at $576,000 after purchasing an additional 2,678 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 13.8% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 45,998 shares of the bank's stock worth $902,000 after buying an additional 5,577 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company's stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock traded down $0.05 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $22.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 304,307 shares, compared to its average volume of 326,349. The stock has a market cap of $2.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.38 and a beta of 1.05. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52 week low of $17.23 and a 52 week high of $24.99. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $21.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $202.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $207.95 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 22.94%. Equities research analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FFBC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $24.00 price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler started coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $26.00 price target on the 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.