Why Gator Capital Put $5.6 Million to Work in a Regional Bank Stock Down 7% This Past Year

2 hours ago 2

Jonathan Ponciano, The Motley Fool

Sun, December 28, 2025 astatine 11:13 AM CST 5 min read

Florida-based Gator Capital Management initiated a caller presumption successful First Financial Bancorp during the 3rd quarter, buying up 221,920 shares.
The presumption was worthy an estimated $5.60 cardinal astatine quarter-end.
It accounted for 1.42% of 13F reportable assets nether absorption (AUM) arsenic of September 30.
These 10 stocks could mint the adjacent question of millionaires ›

Gator Capital Management, LLC initiated a caller presumption successful First Financial Bancorp (NASDAQ:FFBC), adding 221,920 shares with an estimated worth summation of $5.60 cardinal successful the 3rd quarter, according to a November 13 SEC filing.

According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission dated November 13, Gator Capital Management disclosed a caller presumption successful First Financial Bancorp (NASDAQ:FFBC). The steadfast reported ownership of 221,920 shares valued astatine astir $5.60 cardinal arsenic of September 30.

The presumption represents astir 1.42% of Gator Capital Management’s $394.37 cardinal successful 13F reportable U.S. equity assets arsenic of September 30.

Top holdings aft the filing include:

NASDAQ: HOOD: $76.63 cardinal (19.7% of AUM)
NYSE: HOUS: $27.15 cardinal (7.0% of AUM)
NASDAQ: FCNCA: $16.99 cardinal (4.4% of AUM)
NYSE: AX: $13.04 cardinal (3.3% of AUM)
NASDAQ: UMBF: $12.03 cardinal (3.1% of AUM)

As of Friday, shares of First Financial Bancorp. were priced astatine $25.72, down astir 6.5% implicit the past twelvemonth and good underperforming the S&P 500, which is alternatively up astir 15% successful the aforesaid period.

Metric

Value

Revenue (TTM)	$884.98 million
Net Income (TTM)	$258.10 million
Dividend Yield	4%
Price (as of Friday)	$25.72

First Financial Bancorp offers a broad suite of commercialized and user banking products, including deposit accounts, existent property loans, commercialized and concern lending, user loans, and wealthiness absorption services.
The institution serves individuals, small-to-medium sized businesses, and commercialized clients crossed Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois.

First Financial Bancorp is simply a determination banking instauration with a beardown beingness successful the Midwest. The institution leverages a diversified portfolio of lending and deposit services to thrust unchangeable gross streams and support resilient profitability. Its absorption connected commercialized and user relationships, combined with a robust dividend yield, positions it competitively among determination banks.

In a marketplace inactive rewarding growth, leverage, and narrative, adding vulnerability to a slow-moving determination slope is simply a conscious measurement successful the other direction. That tells you thing astir however Gator Capital is reasoning astir the adjacent signifier of the cycle. First Financial Bancorp is not a flashy stock. Shares are down astir 6.5% implicit the past year, lagging some the broader marketplace and galore peers, and the institution has been navigating the aforesaid borderline unit and deposit contention facing astir determination banks. But the third-quarter net merchandise shows a concern that remains profitable, well-capitalized, and operationally steady, with nett involvement income holding up amended than feared and recognition prime remaining sound.

The fund’s broader portfolio provides context. Gator Capital’s largest positions skew toward financials and cyclicals, suggesting a willingness to look done near-term sound successful favour of normalized net power. A 1.4% allocation to First Financial fits that pattern: meaningful, but not reckless.

Ultimately, this doesn’t look to beryllium a telephone connected an imminent complaint chopped oregon a abrupt rerating adjacent quarter, but it does look to suggest that patience tin beryllium an borderline erstwhile the marketplace is distracted elsewhere.