Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Purchases New Position in First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,221,590 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $34,058,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 194.9% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,248,076 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,227,000 after acquiring an additional 824,920 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 67.2% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 907,478 shares of the bank’s stock worth $22,705,000 after acquiring an additional 364,597 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,851,427 shares of the bank’s stock worth $121,383,000 after acquiring an additional 354,833 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the first quarter worth $5,714,000. Finally, Gator Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the third quarter worth $5,603,000. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:FFBC opened at $31.94 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $30.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.55. The company has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.29 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. First Financial Bancorp. has a one year low of $22.98 and a one year high of $32.66.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 currently 35.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FFBC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Truist Financial raised their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen raised First Financial Bancorp. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Four 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.00.

Insider Activity at First Financial Bancorp.

In related news, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.93, for a total transaction of $309,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO James M. Anderson sold 4,263 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $127,890.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 118,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,556,110. The trade was a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 41,126 shares of company stock valued at $1,255,501. Company insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

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.