First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC Shares Acquired by Intech Investment Management LLC

Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 28.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 89,605 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,831 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $2,242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. First Horizon Corp raised its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 56.0% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,526 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 548 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 530.6% in the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,545 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 38.7% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,743 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,903 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Down 2.3%

First Financial Bancorp. stock opened at $29.77 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.52 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. First Financial Bancorp. has a fifty-two week low of $22.93 and a fifty-two week high of $31.38. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.90.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is currently 35.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FFBC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday, March 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $34.00 price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.00.

Insider Activity at First Financial Bancorp.

In other news, CFO James M. Anderson sold 4,263 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $127,890.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 118,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,556,110. The trade was a 3.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Claude E. Davis sold 26,123 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.45, for a total transaction of $795,445.35. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $925,984.50. This trade represents a 46.21% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 31,126 shares of company stock valued at $946,201 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Profile

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.