Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Buys 46,890 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 12.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 420,060 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 46,890 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned approximately 0.44% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $11,291,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Souders Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 0.9% in the third quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 72,038 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,818,000 after acquiring an additional 617 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,340 shares of the bank’s stock worth $236,000 after acquiring an additional 945 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 67,175 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,707,000 after acquiring an additional 975 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on FFBC. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped 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 Monday, January 27th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday, January 24th.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FFBC opened at $25.94 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.48 billion, a PE ratio of 10.81 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $27.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.99. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1 year low of $20.59 and a 1 year high of $31.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.06. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 18.67% and a return on equity of 10.52%. Equities analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.70%. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

About First Financial Bancorp.

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.