Gator Capital Management LLC Acquires Shares of 221,920 First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

Gator Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 221,920 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $5,603,000. First Financial Bancorp. accounts for 1.4% of Gator Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,903 shares of the bank’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 28,308 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $715,000 after buying an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank boosted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 27,784 shares of the bank’s stock worth $702,000 after buying an additional 493 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,125 shares of the bank’s stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 564 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 17,380 shares of the bank’s stock worth $422,000 after buying an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Up 0.3%

FFBC opened at $27.03 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.16 and a beta of 0.97. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $28.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.26. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1-year low of $21.10 and a 1-year high of $31.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.02. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.77% and a net margin of 20.30%.The business had revenue of $251.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $249.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share. Analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is 37.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Gregory A. Harris sold 1,821 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.43, for a total transaction of $53,592.03. Following the transaction, the insider owned 42,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,248,744.33. The trade was a 4.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.20, for a total transaction of $604,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 61,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,051.20. The trade was a 24.43% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 55,141 shares of company stock valued at $1,585,829 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on FFBC shares. Truist Financial increased their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Hovde Group boosted their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings raised First Financial Bancorp. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Financial Bancorp. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.50.

About First Financial Bancorp.

First Financial Bancorp (NASDAQ: FFBC) is a bank holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the parent of First Financial Bank. The company provides a comprehensive suite of commercial and consumer banking services through a network of more than 100 full-service banking centers and mortgage offices across Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. Its core mission centers on delivering personalized relationship banking to businesses, individuals and public sector clients.

First Financial Bank’s product portfolio includes deposit solutions such as checking, savings and money market accounts, alongside a range of lending offerings that cover commercial and industrial loans, real estate and construction financing, home mortgages and home equity lines of credit.