Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Acquires 12,711 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 585,952 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,711 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $13,916,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FFBC. Denali Advisors LLC boosted its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 218.9% during the third quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 94,700 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,856,000 after purchasing an additional 65,008 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund bought a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,086,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 4.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,106,449 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $21,686,000 after acquiring an additional 48,501 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,130,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 82.3% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 97,024 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,902,000 after acquiring an additional 43,798 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on FFBC shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $26.00 price objective for the company.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

First Financial Bancorp. stock traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $22.57. 465,868 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 328,582. First Financial Bancorp. has a one year low of $17.23 and a one year high of $24.99. The stock has a market cap of $2.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.39 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $21.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.64.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.59. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 22.94% and a return on equity of 12.16%. The business had revenue of $287.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $201.79 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.76 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.