Royce & Associates LP Acquires 21,069 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Royce & Associates LP lifted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 26.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 101,922 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,069 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned 0.11% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $2,740,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FFBC. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 221.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,717 shares of the bank’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,873 shares during the period. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. in the 4th quarter worth about $76,000. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Down 1.1 %

NASDAQ:FFBC opened at $24.75 on Friday. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12 month low of $20.59 and a 12 month high of $31.18. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.88. 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 company has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.31 and a beta of 0.99.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 research analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given 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 yield of 3.88%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.00%.

Insider Activity at First Financial Bancorp.

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider James R. Shank sold 7,600 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $277,633.72. The trade was a 40.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.04% of the stock is currently 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.