First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Director Dawn Morris Sells 740 Shares

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Director Dawn Morris sold 740 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.90, for a total value of $22,866.00. Following the sale, the director owned 9,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $295,033.20. The trade was a 7.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

Shares of FFBC traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $30.76. The company had a trading volume of 898,883 shares, compared to its average volume of 918,163. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52-week low of $22.93 and a 52-week high of $31.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.87 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $29.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.73.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FFBC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Truist Financial upped their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Hovde Group upped their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Stephens began coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday, March 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FFBC. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 557.5% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,042,913 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,956,000 after purchasing an additional 1,732,223 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the 1st quarter worth about $34,058,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 194.9% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,248,076 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,227,000 after purchasing an additional 824,920 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,617,522 shares of the bank’s stock worth $184,493,000 after purchasing an additional 374,373 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 67.2% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 907,478 shares of the bank’s stock worth $22,705,000 after purchasing an additional 364,597 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

About First Financial Bancorp.

First Financial Bancorp (NASDAQ: FFBC) is a bank holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the parent of First Financial Bank. The company provides a comprehensive suite of commercial and consumer banking services through a network of more than 100 full-service banking centers and mortgage offices across Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. Its core mission centers on delivering personalized relationship banking to businesses, individuals and public sector clients.

First Financial Bank’s product portfolio includes deposit solutions such as checking, savings and money market accounts, alongside a range of lending offerings that cover commercial and industrial loans, real estate and construction financing, home mortgages and home equity lines of credit.