Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 467 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System decreased its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 34,571 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 467 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $821,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FFBC. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,993 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the 4th quarter worth about $101,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,189 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,028 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 72.6% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,077 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 2,977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC bought a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. during the 4th quarter valued at about $207,000. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on FFBC. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday, February 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $26.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $24.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Up 0.9 %

FFBC opened at $23.55 on Friday. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1-year low of $17.23 and a 1-year high of $24.99. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.85. The company has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a PE ratio of 9.50 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.59. The firm had revenue of $287.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $201.79 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 20.74% and a return on equity of 11.22%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.76 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd will be given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.91%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.10%.

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.