First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.25

by · The Markets Daily

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC – Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a dividend of 0.25 per share by the bank on Monday, March 16th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd.

First Financial Bancorp. has raised its dividend by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 1 years. First Financial Bancorp. has a payout ratio of 36.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect First Financial Bancorp. to earn $2.77 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 36.1%.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

First Financial Bancorp. stock traded up $0.32 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $27.52. 666,585 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,106,784. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12-month low of $21.10 and a 12-month high of $29.21. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $25.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.30. The stock has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.19 and a beta of 0.99.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $251.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $249.00 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 20.64%.During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.71 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 11,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.80, for a total value of $308,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 229,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,147,678.80. The trade was a 4.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FFBC. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 55.0% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 97,727 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,441,000 after purchasing an additional 34,676 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 56,205 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,404,000 after acquiring an additional 2,458 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 589,799 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,733,000 after acquiring an additional 22,227 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 571.4% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,412 shares of the bank’s stock worth $185,000 after acquiring an additional 6,308 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 6.0% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 318,298 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,951,000 after purchasing an additional 17,911 shares during the period. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About First Financial Bancorp.

(Get Free Report)

First Financial Bancorp (NASDAQ: FFBC) is a bank holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the parent of First Financial Bank. The company provides a comprehensive suite of commercial and consumer banking services through a network of more than 100 full-service banking centers and mortgage offices across Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. Its core mission centers on delivering personalized relationship banking to businesses, individuals and public sector clients.

First Financial Bank’s product portfolio includes deposit solutions such as checking, savings and money market accounts, alongside a range of lending offerings that cover commercial and industrial loans, real estate and construction financing, home mortgages and home equity lines of credit.

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