Empowered Funds LLC Boosts Position in First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 5.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 436,804 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 22,852 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.42% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $12,178,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 4th quarter valued at $936,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,309,205 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,756,000 after acquiring an additional 42,116 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 174.7% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 72,244 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,808,000 after acquiring an additional 45,943 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,929,185 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $273,448,000 after acquiring an additional 215,357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 114.5% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 84,595 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,117,000 after purchasing an additional 45,149 shares in the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FFBC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target 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, Truist Financial upped their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Financial Bancorp. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.67.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

FFBC stock opened at $33.82 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.95 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $32.79 and its 200 day moving average is $30.12. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52 week low of $23.06 and a 52 week high of $36.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The bank reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.02. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 20.77% and a return on equity of 11.13%. The business had revenue of $264.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $270.29 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This is a boost from First Financial Bancorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.34%.

Insider Activity at First Financial Bancorp.

In other news, insider Claude E. Davis sold 26,123 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider owned 30,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $925,984.50. This trade represents a 46.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.93, for a total transaction of $309,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 243,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,539,434.94. This represents a 3.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 36,863 shares of company stock worth $1,127,611. 1.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.