Planned Solutions Inc. Invests $101,000 in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 4,240 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $101,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. during the 4th quarter valued at about $21,748,000. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 13,933,810 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $303,339,000 after buying an additional 423,327 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,783,768 shares of the bank’s stock worth $77,340,000 after acquiring an additional 207,901 shares during the last quarter. Fidelity National Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the first quarter valued at about $4,354,000. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 4.5% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,138,615 shares of the bank’s stock worth $90,098,000 after purchasing an additional 178,038 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Up 4.2 %

NASDAQ FFBC opened at $22.25 on Thursday. First Financial Bancorp. has a one year low of $17.23 and a one year high of $24.99. The firm has a market cap of $2.12 billion, a PE ratio of 8.27 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $22.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.01. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 22.94%. The business had revenue of $202.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $207.95 million. Analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.13%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FFBC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $26.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $24.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Financial Bancorp. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.25.

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.