K2 Principal Fund L.P. Invests $665,000 in First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

K2 Principal Fund L.P. acquired a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 26,576 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $665,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,929,185 shares of the bank’s stock worth $273,448,000 after buying an additional 215,357 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,243,149 shares of the bank’s stock worth $156,205,000 after buying an additional 30,043 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,851,427 shares of the bank’s stock worth $121,383,000 after buying an additional 354,833 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,374,365 shares of the bank’s stock worth $59,415,000 after purchasing an additional 22,389 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,309,205 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,756,000 after purchasing an additional 42,116 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $34.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, April 27th. Truist Financial increased their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Stephens assumed coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday, March 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut First Financial Bancorp. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Financial Bancorp. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Financial Bancorp.

In other news, CFO James M. Anderson sold 4,263 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $127,890.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 118,537 shares in the company, valued at $3,556,110. The trade was a 3.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 10,000 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.93, for a total value of $309,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 243,758 shares in the company, valued at $7,539,434.94. The trade was a 3.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 41,126 shares of company stock worth $1,255,501. Corporate insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FFBC opened at $32.30 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.24. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1-year low of $22.93 and a 1-year high of $32.31. The stock has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a PE ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 0.93.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.34%.

First Financial Bancorp. Company Profile

First Financial Bancorp (NASDAQ: FFBC) is a bank holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the parent of First Financial Bank. The company provides a comprehensive suite of commercial and consumer banking services through a network of more than 100 full-service banking centers and mortgage offices across Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. Its core mission centers on delivering personalized relationship banking to businesses, individuals and public sector clients.

First Financial Bank’s product portfolio includes deposit solutions such as checking, savings and money market accounts, alongside a range of lending offerings that cover commercial and industrial loans, real estate and construction financing, home mortgages and home equity lines of credit.