Prudential Financial Inc. Acquires 22,681 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 390,966 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,681 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $10,509,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 221.9% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,717 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,873 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. during the fourth quarter valued at about $76,000. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Financial Bancorp.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on FFBC. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FFBC opened at $24.80 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.33 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $26.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12-month low of $20.59 and a 12-month high of $31.18.

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

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.87%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

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.