Rafferty Asset Management LLC Sells 1,734 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 81,054 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,734 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.08% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $2,179,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,892,158 shares of the bank’s stock worth $292,781,000 after purchasing an additional 72,367 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 16.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,362,436 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,622,000 after purchasing an additional 189,715 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted 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 worth $35,076,000 after purchasing an additional 22,573 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 38.3% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,186,286 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,887,000 after purchasing an additional 328,788 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 17.6% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at First Financial Bancorp.

In related news, insider James R. Shank sold 7,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.92, for a total transaction of $189,392.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,141 shares in the company, valued at $277,633.72. The trade was a 40.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a “hold” rating and a $27.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday, January 24th.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Down 0.6%

FFBC opened at $24.89 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.37 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $23.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12 month low of $20.59 and a 12 month high of $31.18.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.63. The firm had revenue of $201.59 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $214.80 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.52% and a net margin of 18.67%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.86%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.83%.

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.