20,413 Shares in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Bought by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 20,413 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $549,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp grew its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,643,440 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $117,154,000 after buying an additional 39,655 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,271,990 shares of the bank’s stock worth $57,333,000 after acquiring an additional 34,977 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,304,922 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $35,076,000 after acquiring an additional 22,573 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 849,678 shares of the bank’s stock worth $22,839,000 after purchasing an additional 126,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 511,868 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,759,000 after purchasing an additional 20,636 shares during the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

FFBC opened at $25.10 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $26.59 and a 200 day moving average of $26.87. The stock has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.46 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52-week low of $20.59 and a 52-week high of $31.18.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.06. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.52% and a net margin of 18.67%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.82%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on FFBC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on 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. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued 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.

Insider Activity at First Financial Bancorp.

In other news, insider James R. Shank sold 7,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.92, for a total transaction of $189,392.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.