New York State Common Retirement Fund Trims Stock Holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 160,883 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 4,700 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.17% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $4,325,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 140.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 190,742 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,812,000 after acquiring an additional 111,309 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,792,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,013,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 73.1% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 153,281 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,867,000 after purchasing an additional 64,745 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 397.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 73,750 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,861,000 after buying an additional 58,935 shares in the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FFBC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Friday, January 24th.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FFBC opened at $27.41 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.42 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $27.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.93. First Financial Bancorp. has a twelve month low of $20.59 and a twelve month high of $31.18.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.06. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 18.67% and a return on equity of 10.52%. As a group, equities analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

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.