Teacher Retirement System of Texas Has $2.35 Million Position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 87,345 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,781 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned 0.09% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $2,348,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of FFBC. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 14.9% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 28,862 shares of the bank’s stock worth $728,000 after buying an additional 3,747 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 41.7% during the 3rd 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. increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 23,472 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 25.2% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 166,170 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,192,000 after acquiring an additional 33,464 shares during the period. Finally, Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP lifted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 29.2% during the 3rd quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP now owns 19,932 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $503,000 after purchasing an additional 4,505 shares during the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider James R. Shank sold 7,600 shares of First Financial Bancorp. 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $277,633.72. This trade represents a 40.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock opened at $25.32 on Thursday. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52-week low of $20.59 and a 52-week high of $31.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $26.88 and a 200-day moving average of $26.87. The stock has a market cap of $2.42 billion, a PE ratio of 10.55 and a beta of 0.99.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.