Chartwell Investment Partners LLC, a Delaware-based institutional investor with assets under management exceeding $11.9 billion, recently disclosed that it has reduced its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 2.6%, according to its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission during the first quarter of the year.
The SEC filing revealed that Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 358,202 shares of First Financial Bancorp.’s stock after selling 9,479 shares during the said period. As per its most recent report, Chartwell has a stake worth $7,798,000 in the Ohio-based First Financial Bancorp.
While this decision may cause some generalized concern among other investors in FFBC stocks, it is important to consider the decisions’ implications based on the bank’s financial performance before coming to any conclusions.
First Financial Bancorp., as an Ohio-based company that provides commercial banking and related services to its customers located across several states such as Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois reported a revenue figure of $264.12 million for Q1 2021. The numbers looked impressive in comparison to analysts’ consensus estimates of $202.70 million.
Further assessments reveal that FFBC also recorded a net margin of around 27.92% along with a return on equity amounting to nearly 12.18%.
The significance lies in the fact that these figures surpassed many expectations placed upon them by several industry experts.
In particular, based on reports released late last week Friday (April 21), FFBC posted total earnings of $0.76 earnings per share (EPS), surpassing analyst’s consensus forecasts of $0.70 by $0.06 during the same quarter previously occupied with earnings per share sitting at $0.46 EPS based on data from previous years.
During this fiscal year’s remaining quarters e.g., Q2-Q4- Forexample – analysts are optimistic about creating even more financial wealth for the stakeholders of FFBC. On average, analysts expect their EPS predictions to reach 2.71 by year-end, potentially creating a strong opportunity to attain an additional ROI.
It is worthy to note that each decline or increase in investments should not necessarily have a tumultuous effect on stocks’ future performances. Still, it’s important always to consider each decision made by institutional investors with an analytical eye based on existing data available about the company and its market position.
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Institutional Transactions and Market Struggles: A Review of First Financial Bancorp’s Recent Performance
First Financial Bancorp: An Overview of Recent Institutional Transactions and Financial Performance
First Financial Bancorp saw a number of hedge funds and other institutional investors modify their holdings in the business in the fourth quarter, according to recent reports. The State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its share holdings by 0.6%, now owning over 66,000 shares valued at $1.6 million. Kestra Advisory Services saw an increase in its position by 4.0%, owning over 11,000 shares worth $268,000 following this expansion. Another boost was seen with Amalgamated Bank increasing its stake by 1.2% to own over 43,000 shares valued at $1,047,000 and Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank gaining extra stock to hold responsibility for over 15,000 shares.
These movements demonstrate a surge from institutional players who achieved ownership of approximately three quarters (75.67%) of First Financial Bancorp’s overall stock percentage during these transactions.
However, when we look at First Financial Bancorp’s market performance on Friday where it opened at $20.39 it shows the shares are still clearly struggling after dropping down almost ten dollars from 52 week high back in July last year standing at just over $26.
Looking further into the reported details regarding First Financial Bancorp., it is revealed that the company operates as a bank holding company for First Financial Bank providing banking services across four American states: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio offering various deposit products such as interest-bearing or noninterest-bearing accounts alongside cash management services for commercial customers.
Reports also suggested that First Financial announced it will pay a quarterly dividend in early June with stockholders getting $0.23 per share but ultimately entered the ex-dividend transaction losing value for shareholders on May 31st which may have caused caution among possible buyers of FFBC stocks.
Various research analysts have recently commented on First Financial Bancorp’s market performance, with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropping their target price by $3.00 to set a new value of $23.00 and changing the stock rating from “buy” to “hold.” As well as this, recent reports suggest that StockNews.com has also been cautionary with coverage of FFBC in a “hold” rating. Nonetheless, Stephens reiterated its long-time dedication to the business by leaving its ‘Equal Weight’ rating while establishing a price objective of $24.00.
While there are various opinions regarding the market outlook for First Financial Bancorp, it will remain an underlying asset for many institutional investors that conduct business daily in high stake fluctuating markets such as those seen across North America. Thus even with those holding FFBC stocks might feel a little agitated at present given the context mentioned above; only time will tell what direction First Financial Bancorp takes.
What is clear today is that the company operates as an established banking provider covering four States within America and providing valued deposit services along cash management options for commercial customers – all during very challenging times which may be taken into context regarding current stock prices.