4,240 Shares in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Acquired by Planned Solutions Inc.

Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,240 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $101,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 6.7% in the third quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 573,241 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,236,000 after buying an additional 35,764 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 207,243 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,236,000 after buying an additional 2,600 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,106,449 shares of the bank’s stock worth $21,686,000 after purchasing an additional 48,501 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 10.0% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 29,376 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $576,000 after acquiring an additional 2,678 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 45,998 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $902,000 after purchasing an additional 5,577 shares during the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Up 4.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FFBC opened at $22.25 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $22.11 and a 200-day moving average of $21.35. The stock has a market cap of $2.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.27 and a beta of 1.04. First Financial Bancorp. has a one year low of $17.23 and a one year high of $24.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.01. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 22.94%. The business had revenue of $202.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $207.95 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.13%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is 34.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FFBC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $24.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday, February 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $26.00 price target for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $24.25.

First Financial Bancorp. 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.