AlphaQuest LLC Has $1.27 Million Stock Holdings in First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 347.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,159 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 40,514 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $1,265,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FFBC. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 2.6% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 525,209 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,120,000 after buying an additional 13,341 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 43.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,522 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the period. MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $543,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 43.8% in the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 36,408 shares of the bank’s stock worth $909,000 after purchasing an additional 11,098 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $418,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock opened at $24.09 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.92 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.64. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52-week low of $21.10 and a 52-week high of $31.18. 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. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 15th. The bank reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 20.64% and a return on equity of 10.86%. The business had revenue of $179.99 million for the quarter. On average, equities research analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FFBC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Saturday. Truist Financial increased their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Raymond James Financial set a $30.00 target price on First Financial Bancorp. and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $28.00 price target (up from $27.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Financial Bancorp. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.83.

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bancorp.

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.79, for a total transaction 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 represents a 4.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas Murray Obrien sold 7,383 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 46,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,233,579.20. This trade represents a 13.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

About First Financial Bancorp.

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.