American Century Companies Inc. Raises Position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 381,582 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,870 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $10,257,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 12,269 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,340 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 945 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 67,175 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,707,000 after buying an additional 975 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 187,743 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,047,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FFBC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped 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 Monday, January 27th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday, January 24th.

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bancorp.

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

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

NASDAQ FFBC opened at $25.10 on Thursday. First Financial Bancorp. has a one year low of $20.59 and a one year high of $31.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $26.59 and a 200 day moving average of $26.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $2.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.46 and a beta of 0.85.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.06. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 18.67% and a return on equity of 10.52%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.82%. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is 40.00%.

First Financial Bancorp. Company 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.