Picton Mahoney Asset Management Boosts Stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 32.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,804 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,053 shares during the quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $559,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FFBC. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 221.9% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,717 shares of the bank’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,873 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $76,000. 77.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Up 2.5 %

NASDAQ:FFBC opened at $24.85 on Friday. First Financial Bancorp. has a twelve month low of $20.59 and a twelve month high of $31.18. The company has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.35 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.06. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.52% and a net margin of 18.67%. Analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.86%. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

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.