Barclays PLC Purchases 6,004 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 196,746 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,004 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned about 0.21% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $5,288,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FFBC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,892,158 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $292,781,000 after purchasing an additional 72,367 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,304,922 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $35,076,000 after acquiring an additional 22,573 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 849,678 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $22,839,000 after acquiring an additional 126,996 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 511,868 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,759,000 after acquiring an additional 20,636 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 98.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 447,824 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,038,000 after acquiring an additional 221,683 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider James R. Shank sold 7,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.92, for a total value of $189,392.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,141 shares in the company, valued at $277,633.72. This trade represents a 40.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

Shares of FFBC stock opened at $22.93 on Friday. First Financial Bancorp. has a fifty-two week low of $20.59 and a fifty-two week high of $31.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.55 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.57.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 18.67% and a return on equity of 10.52%. The business had revenue of $201.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $214.80 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.19%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FFBC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $33.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday, January 24th.

First Financial Bancorp. Company 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.