Sei Investments Co. Acquires 5,551 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 69,266 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 5,551 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned about 0.07% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $1,539,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FFBC. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 94.0% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 338,711 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,526,000 after purchasing an additional 164,105 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division lifted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 1,038,758 shares of the bank’s stock worth $23,289,000 after buying an additional 157,190 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,939,804 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $259,820,000 after buying an additional 91,126 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 41.1% in the second quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 302,700 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,726,000 after buying an additional 88,100 shares during the period. Finally, Choreo LLC raised its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 176.3% during the second quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 127,326 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,820,000 after acquiring an additional 81,245 shares during the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Claude E. Davis sold 29,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.60, for a total value of $771,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 53,576 shares in the company, valued at $1,425,121.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock opened at $24.30 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $25.32 and its 200 day moving average is $23.50. First Financial Bancorp. has a one year low of $17.23 and a one year high of $28.25. The firm has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.80 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.69% and a net margin of 19.67%. The firm had revenue of $314.22 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $203.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.72 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.58 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 2nd were paid a $0.24 dividend. This is an increase from First Financial Bancorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is 38.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on FFBC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th.

First Financial Bancorp. Company 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.