New York State Teachers Retirement System Raises Stock Holdings in First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 172,550 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,701 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.18% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $4,186,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 525,209 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,120,000 after buying an additional 13,341 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 43.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,522 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 464 shares during the period. MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. during the 1st quarter valued at $543,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 43.8% during the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 36,408 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $909,000 after buying an additional 11,098 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. during the 1st quarter valued at $418,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.79, for a total transaction of $309,875.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 240,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,971,687.89. This represents a 4.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Thomas Murray Obrien sold 7,383 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.54, for a total value of $195,944.82. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 46,480 shares in the company, valued at $1,233,579.20. The trade was a 13.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

Shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock opened at $24.30 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $25.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.59. The company has a market capitalization of $2.33 billion, a PE ratio of 9.72 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52 week low of $21.10 and a 52 week high of $31.18.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 15th. The bank reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 19.41%.The business had revenue of $179.99 million for the quarter. As a group, analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FFBC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Truist Financial increased their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised First Financial Bancorp. from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 20th. Raymond James Financial set a $30.00 price objective on First Financial Bancorp. and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Hovde Group started coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective (up previously from $27.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Financial Bancorp. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.83.

First Financial Bancorp. 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.