Maltese Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

Maltese Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 171.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 142,500 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 90,000 shares during the quarter. Maltese Capital Management LLC’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $3,598,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,504,000. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 378,913 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,192,000 after acquiring an additional 17,549 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,340,113 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,777,000 after acquiring an additional 10,470 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 2nd quarter worth about $3,158,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 14.4% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 373,524 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,431,000 after acquiring an additional 47,142 shares during the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:FFBC opened at $26.91 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.12 and a beta of 0.97. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1 year low of $21.10 and a 1 year high of $31.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $251.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $249.00 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 10.77%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.71 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.59%.

Insider Activity at First Financial Bancorp.

In related news, CAO Karen B. Woods sold 10,000 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.28, for a total transaction of $302,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 63,954 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,936,527.12. The trade was a 13.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Gregory A. Harris sold 1,821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.43, for a total transaction of $53,592.03. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 42,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,248,744.33. This trade represents a 4.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 32,141 shares of company stock worth $969,429. 1.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FFBC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Hovde Group increased their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised First Financial Bancorp. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.50.

First Financial Bancorp. Company Profile

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.