Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC Takes $1.05 Million Position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 47,271 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,050,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the second quarter worth approximately $96,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the second quarter worth approximately $169,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the second quarter worth approximately $77,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 39.1% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 25,310 shares of the bank’s stock worth $562,000 after buying an additional 7,112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Saxony Capital Management LLC raised its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 16.0% in the second quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC now owns 18,802 shares of the bank’s stock worth $418,000 after buying an additional 2,596 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Claude E. Davis sold 29,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.60, for a total transaction of $771,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 53,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,425,121.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

Shares of FFBC stock opened at $26.12 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $24.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.00. The company has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a PE ratio of 10.53 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12-month low of $17.23 and a 12-month high of $28.25.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $314.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $203.50 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.69% and a net margin of 19.67%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. Analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This is a positive change from First Financial Bancorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.68%. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is 38.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th.

First Financial Bancorp. 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.