Natixis Advisors LLC Acquires 15,183 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 52.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 44,045 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,183 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $1,184,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 4.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 491,232 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,394,000 after buying an additional 20,449 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. during the 4th quarter valued at $273,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,271,990 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $57,333,000 after acquiring an additional 34,977 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 25.2% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 166,170 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,192,000 after acquiring an additional 33,464 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 3rd quarter worth $2,792,000. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FFBC opened at $25.36 on Wednesday. First Financial Bancorp. has a fifty-two week low of $20.59 and a fifty-two week high of $31.18. The company has a market cap of $2.42 billion, a PE ratio of 10.57 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.88.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is 40.00%.

Insider Activity at First Financial Bancorp.

In related news, insider James R. Shank sold 7,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.92, for a total value of $189,392.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $277,633.72. This represents a 40.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.