Victory Capital Management Inc. Has $10.13 Million Stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) by 22.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 376,749 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 68,087 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.39% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $10,127,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FFBC. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 4.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 491,232 shares of the bank's stock valued at $12,394,000 after purchasing an additional 20,449 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 4th quarter worth about $273,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,271,990 shares of the bank's stock worth $57,333,000 after acquiring an additional 34,977 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 25.2% during the third 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, Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. in the third quarter worth approximately $2,792,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.23% of the company's stock.

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First Financial Bancorp. Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of FFBC traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $24.90. The stock had a trading volume of 362,225 shares, compared to its average volume of 361,227. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.93. The firm has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.38 and a beta of 0.99. First Financial Bancorp. has a fifty-two week low of $20.59 and a fifty-two week high of $31.18. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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, equities analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.86%. First Financial Bancorp.'s payout ratio is 40.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.