First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC Stake Lessened by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System lessened its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 17.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 132,648 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 27,547 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.13% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $3,698,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 55.0% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 97,727 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,441,000 after purchasing an additional 34,676 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 56,205 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,404,000 after purchasing an additional 2,458 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 589,799 shares of the bank’s stock worth $14,733,000 after buying an additional 22,227 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 571.4% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,412 shares of the bank’s stock worth $185,000 after buying an additional 6,308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 6.0% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 318,298 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,951,000 after buying an additional 17,911 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at First Financial Bancorp.

In related news, insider Claude E. Davis sold 26,123 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.45, for a total value of $795,445.35. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $925,984.50. This represents a 46.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.93, for a total transaction of $309,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 243,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,539,434.94. This represents a 3.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,126 shares of company stock worth $1,255,501. 1.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of FFBC opened at $34.01 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $31.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 0.92. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1-year low of $23.06 and a 1-year high of $35.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.07. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 20.92% and a return on equity of 11.09%. The company had revenue of $265.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $257.97 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. Analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is currently 35.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on FFBC shares. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Stephens began coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday, March 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Financial Bancorp. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.33.

First Financial Bancorp. Profile

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.