Renaissance Technologies LLC Acquires New Stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 54,237 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,205,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.06% of First Financial Bancorp. as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 26,617 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $591,000 after buying an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 23.1% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,340 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 63.9% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 1,732 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.9% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 48,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 9.6% in the first quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 11,394 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ FFBC opened at $24.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.80 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $25.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.50. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52-week low of $17.23 and a 52-week high of $28.25.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $203.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This is a positive change from First Financial Bancorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.71%.

Insider Activity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th.

About First Financial Bancorp.

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.