Voya Investment Management LLC Sells 6,667 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Voya Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 14.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,976 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 6,667 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $1,048,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 140.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 190,742 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,812,000 after acquiring an additional 111,309 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 67,175 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 975 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 4.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 491,232 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,394,000 after buying an additional 20,449 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 21.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 295,967 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,006,000 after buying an additional 52,739 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on FFBC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Down 0.7 %

First Financial Bancorp. stock opened at $23.78 on Wednesday. First Financial Bancorp. has a twelve month low of $20.59 and a twelve month high of $31.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a 50 day moving average of $24.03 and a 200-day moving average of $26.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a PE ratio of 9.91 and a beta of 0.94.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.63. The firm had revenue of $201.59 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $214.80 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.52% and a net margin of 18.67%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.04%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.83%.

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bancorp.

In related news, insider James R. Shank sold 7,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.