New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 1,300 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

New York State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 0.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 168,155 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,300 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.18% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $4,243,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FFBC. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 76.6% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 46,793 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,049,000 after purchasing an additional 20,299 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 83,266 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,867,000 after buying an additional 1,094 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 234,168 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,250,000 after acquiring an additional 19,596 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 3.4% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 53,320 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,195,000 after acquiring an additional 1,768 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. in the first quarter worth approximately $752,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Up 13.8 %

Shares of FFBC opened at $29.40 on Thursday. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1-year low of $19.00 and a 1-year high of $29.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $25.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.67 and a beta of 0.99.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.32% and a net margin of 18.55%. The company had revenue of $302.82 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $214.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.58 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on FFBC. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Claude E. Davis sold 29,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.60, for a total value of $771,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 53,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,425,121.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Scott T. Crawley sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.31, for a total transaction of $87,930.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $565,067.49. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Claude E. Davis sold 29,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.60, for a total value of $771,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 53,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,425,121.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,700 shares of company stock worth $956,788 over the last three months. 2.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.