Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 43.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,526 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 18,948 shares during the quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $582,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the 4th quarter worth about $1,130,000. Saxony Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the 4th quarter worth about $385,000. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the 4th quarter worth about $208,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 72.6% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,077 shares of the bank’s stock worth $168,000 after buying an additional 2,977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 42,416 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,007,000 after purchasing an additional 1,797 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $24.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $26.00 price target for the company.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

NASDAQ FFBC opened at $20.79 on Wednesday. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52 week low of $17.23 and a 52 week high of $24.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.73 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $21.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.54.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $202.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $207.95 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 22.94% and a return on equity of 12.16%. Equities research analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is 34.20%.

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.