Intech Investment Management LLC Boosts Holdings in First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 28.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 89,605 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 19,831 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC owned 0.09% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $2,242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,374,365 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $59,415,000 after buying an additional 22,389 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 114.5% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 84,595 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,117,000 after purchasing an additional 45,149 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 38.7% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,743 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 59,858 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,498,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FFBC. Stephens began coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Friday, March 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $34.00 price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Financial Bancorp. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, CFO James M. Anderson sold 4,263 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $127,890.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 118,537 shares in the company, valued at $3,556,110. This represents a 3.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Claude E. Davis sold 26,123 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.45, for a total transaction of $795,445.35. Following the sale, the insider owned 30,410 shares in the company, valued at approximately $925,984.50. This trade represents a 46.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 31,126 shares of company stock worth $946,201. 1.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

First Financial Bancorp. stock opened at $29.77 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a PE ratio of 10.52 and a beta of 0.93. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52-week low of $22.93 and a 52-week high of $31.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company’s 50 day moving average is $29.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.90.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is 35.34%.

About First Financial Bancorp.

First Financial Bancorp (NASDAQ: FFBC) is a bank holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the parent of First Financial Bank. The company provides a comprehensive suite of commercial and consumer banking services through a network of more than 100 full-service banking centers and mortgage offices across Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. Its core mission centers on delivering personalized relationship banking to businesses, individuals and public sector clients.

First Financial Bank’s product portfolio includes deposit solutions such as checking, savings and money market accounts, alongside a range of lending offerings that cover commercial and industrial loans, real estate and construction financing, home mortgages and home equity lines of credit.