Bahl & Gaynor LLC Buys 201,611 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

Bahl & Gaynor LLC grew its stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 10.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,104,558 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 201,611 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor LLC’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $65,915,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 6.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,617,522 shares of the bank’s stock worth $184,493,000 after buying an additional 374,373 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 557.5% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,042,913 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,956,000 after acquiring an additional 1,732,223 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the 2nd quarter worth $40,815,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 29.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,236,781 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,481,000 after acquiring an additional 283,306 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Bank Trust Division lifted its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 836,135 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,286,000 after acquiring an additional 14,763 shares during the period. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Down 0.4%

FFBC stock opened at $32.89 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.16. The company has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.54 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12 month low of $23.16 and a 12 month high of $36.24.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The bank reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $273.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $270.97 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 20.80% and a return on equity of 11.44%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.76 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is 36.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on FFBC. Truist Financial boosted their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $37.00 price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Financial Bancorp. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Archie Brown sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.93, for a total value of $164,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 238,758 shares in the company, valued at $7,862,300.94. This represents a 2.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas O’Brien sold 16,088 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.77, for a total value of $527,203.76. Following the sale, the director directly owned 30,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $995,945.84. This trade represents a 34.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Company Profile

First Financial Bancorp. is a Cincinnati-based bank holding company and the parent of First Financial Bank. Its banking roots date to 1863, when the institution that became First Financial Bank was established in Hamilton, Ohio. Through First Financial Bank, the company provides commercial and consumer banking services, including business lending, deposit accounts, residential and personal lending, treasury management, and wealth management. It serves individuals, businesses, and organizations across Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois.