Bridgeway Capital Management LLC Acquires 20,284 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 759,950 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,284 shares during the quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC owned 0.77% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $19,014,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 26,260 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $657,000 after buying an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,309 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,903 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 38.7% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,743 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 11,858 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of FFBC stock opened at $31.46 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $30.32 and a 200-day moving average of $28.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12-month low of $22.93 and a 12-month high of $32.66. The firm has a market cap of $3.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.12 and a beta of 0.93.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.34%.

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bancorp.

In other news, insider Claude E. Davis sold 26,123 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.45, for a total transaction of $795,445.35. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,410 shares in the company, valued at $925,984.50. This trade represents a 46.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO James M. Anderson sold 4,263 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 118,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,556,110. The trade was a 3.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 41,126 shares of company stock worth $1,255,501 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FFBC has been the subject of several 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 increased their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday, March 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $34.00 price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given 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.

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.