Prudential Financial Inc. Purchases 22,681 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Prudential Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 390,966 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 22,681 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.41% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $10,509,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 41.7% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 21,470 shares of the bank’s stock worth $542,000 after acquiring an additional 6,320 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,282,349 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,354,000 after purchasing an additional 23,472 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 166,170 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,192,000 after purchasing an additional 33,464 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 397.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 73,750 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,861,000 after buying an additional 58,935 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 24.9% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 36,760 shares of the bank’s stock worth $927,000 after buying an additional 7,331 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $33.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday, January 24th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider James R. Shank sold 7,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.92, for a total value of $189,392.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,141 shares in the company, valued at $277,633.72. This represents a 40.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

FFBC opened at $24.80 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $26.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.85. 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 market capitalization of $2.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.33 and a beta of 0.99.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.06. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 18.67% and a return on equity of 10.52%. Equities analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.87%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.00%.

About First Financial Bancorp.

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.