NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan continued to hold its stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 45,000 shares of the bank’s stock at the end of the second quarter. NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $1,247,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FFBC. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 27.6% in the first quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 45,398 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,247,000 after buying an additional 9,821 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 747.7% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 195,286 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,361,000 after buying an additional 172,249 shares during the period. Capital One National Association boosted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.0% in the first quarter. Capital One National Association now owns 25,670 shares of the bank’s stock worth $705,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can boosted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 6.9% in the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 86,898 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,380,000 after buying an additional 5,586 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.9% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 6,840 shares of the bank’s stock worth $187,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.40% of the company’s stock.
First Financial Bancorp. (FFBC) opened at 25.75 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $27.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.29. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52 week low of $20.55 and a 52 week high of $29.80. The firm has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.05 and a beta of 1.18.
First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 25th. The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $85.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.52 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 24.28%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.36 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post $1.52 EPS for the current year.
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 30th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.64%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.03%.
A number of brokerages have weighed in on FFBC. Stephens upgraded First Financial Bancorp. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $31.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. Barclays PLC lowered their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. Piper Jaffray Companies set a $28.00 price target on First Financial Bancorp. and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 25th. Sandler O’Neill upgraded First Financial Bancorp. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $28.00 to $29.00 in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Finally, BidaskClub cut First Financial Bancorp. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.63.
In related news, insider Paul C. Silva sold 1,713 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.66, for a total transaction of $47,381.58. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,730.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider C Douglas Lefferson sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.69, for a total value of $1,027,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 74,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,905,427.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.88% of the company’s stock.
About First Financial Bancorp.
First Financial Bancorp. (First Financial) is a regional bank holding company. First Financial is engaged in the business of commercial banking and other banking and banking-related activities through its subsidiary, First Financial Bank, National Association (the Bank). The range of banking services provided by First Financial to individuals and businesses include commercial lending, real estate lending and consumer financing.
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