FineMark National Bank & Trust Boosts Holdings in First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

FineMark National Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 53,576 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,148 shares during the quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $1,300,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FFBC. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the first quarter valued at $418,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 43.8% during the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 36,408 shares of the bank’s stock worth $909,000 after buying an additional 11,098 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 12.1% during the second quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 20,313 shares of the bank’s stock worth $493,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. MQS Management LLC increased its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 20.5% in the 2nd quarter. MQS Management LLC now owns 26,192 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $635,000 after acquiring an additional 4,463 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 70.0% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 74,527 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,862,000 after acquiring an additional 30,677 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, Director Thomas Murray Obrien sold 7,383 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the director owned 46,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,233,579.20. This represents a 13.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FFBC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Hovde Group initiated coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $28.00 price target (down from $30.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Monday. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $28.00 target price (up previously from $27.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, July 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Financial Bancorp. has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.50.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Up 0.5%

NASDAQ:FFBC opened at $23.65 on Thursday. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1 year low of $21.10 and a 1 year high of $31.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $24.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.76 and a beta of 1.03.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The bank reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $234.01 million for the quarter. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 20.64% and a return on equity of 10.72%. 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. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.04%.

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.