First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Shares Sold by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 13.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,867 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 4,376 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $696,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 4.0% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 10,923 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $273,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 24.4% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the bank’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake 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 worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,879 shares of the bank’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 11,585 shares of the bank’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 822 shares during the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $28.00 price target (up previously from $27.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a “hold” rating and a $27.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded First Financial Bancorp. from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.00.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Up 2.8%

NASDAQ:FFBC opened at $25.19 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $24.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.08 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1 year low of $21.10 and a 1 year high of $31.18.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $226.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $219.95 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 19.41%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. This is an increase from First Financial Bancorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.40%.

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.