LSV Asset Management Has $3.68 Million Stock Holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

LSV Asset Management reduced its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 154,833 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 4,100 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $3,677,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of FFBC. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 28,656 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $562,000 after buying an additional 569 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 11.4% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 58,405 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,145,000 after acquiring an additional 5,985 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 19.0% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 18,271 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $358,000 after acquiring an additional 2,923 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 19.9% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,189 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,028 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 6.7% during the third quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 573,241 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,236,000 after purchasing an additional 35,764 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on FFBC shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $24.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler started coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $26.00 target price for the company.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

Shares of FFBC stock opened at $23.33 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.41 and a beta of 1.04. First Financial Bancorp. has a twelve month low of $17.23 and a twelve month high of $24.99. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.84.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.59. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 11.22% and a net margin of 20.74%. The company had revenue of $287.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $201.79 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.76 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd will be paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.94%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is 37.10%.

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.