Swiss National Bank Grows Position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Swiss National Bank increased its position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 187,743 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.20% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $5,047,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FFBC. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,961,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 17.6% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 849,678 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $22,839,000 after purchasing an additional 126,996 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 140.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 190,742 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,812,000 after purchasing an additional 111,309 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,792,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 22.1% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 376,749 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,127,000 after buying an additional 68,087 shares during the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on FFBC shares. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $33.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, 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 research note on Monday, January 27th.

Insider Activity at First Financial Bancorp.

In related news, insider James R. Shank sold 7,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.92, for a total transaction of $189,392.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $277,633.72. This represents a 40.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

Shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock opened at $25.35 on Tuesday. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12 month low of $20.59 and a 12 month high of $31.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.56 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.88.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.79%. First Financial Bancorp.’s 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.