Swiss National Bank Acquires 1,300 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 187,743 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $5,047,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 491,232 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,394,000 after buying an additional 20,449 shares during the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $273,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,271,990 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $57,333,000 after purchasing an additional 34,977 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 25.2% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 166,170 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,192,000 after purchasing an additional 33,464 shares during the period. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. in the third quarter worth approximately $2,792,000. 77.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider James R. Shank sold 7,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.92, for a total value of $189,392.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $277,633.72. This represents a 40.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of FFBC stock opened at $25.35 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company has a market cap of $2.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.56 and a beta of 0.99. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1 year low of $20.59 and a 1 year high of $31.18. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $26.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.88.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.06. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.52% and a net margin of 18.67%. As a group, equities analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday, January 24th.

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.