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By Dividend Channel Staff, Monday, July 18, 3:53 PM ET

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In trading on Monday, shares of First Financial Bancorp (NASDAQ:FFBC) were yielding above the 3% mark based on its quarterly dividend (annualized to $0.48), with the stock changing hands as low as $15.80 on the day. Dividends are particularly important for investors to consider, because historically speaking dividends have provided a considerable share of the stock market's total return. To illustrate, suppose for example you purchased shares of the iShares Russell 3000 ETF (IWV) back on 5/31/2000 � you would have paid $78.27 per share. Fast forward to 5/31/2011 and each share was worth $80.78 on that date, a mere $2.51 or 3.2% increase over eleven years. But now consider that you collected a whopping $9.69 per share in dividends over the same period, increasing your return to 20.27%. Even with dividends reinvested, that only amounts to an average annual total return of about 1.7%; so by comparison collecting a yield above 3% would appear considerably attractive if that yield is sustainable. First Financial Bancorp (NASDAQ:FFBC) is a member of the Russell 3000, giving it special status as one of the largest 3000 companies on the U.S. stock markets.

In general, dividend amounts are not always predictable and tend to follow the ups and downs of profitability at each company. In the case of First Financial Bancorp , looking at the history chart for FFBC below can help in judging whether the most recent dividend is likely to continue, and in turn whether it is a reasonable expectation to expect a 3% annual yield.

FFBC Dividend History
Date	Div^*
06/01/11	0.120
03/02/11	0.120
12/15/10	0.100
09/01/10	0.100
06/02/10	0.100
03/03/10	0.100
12/02/09	0.100
09/02/09	0.100
06/03/09	0.100
03/04/09	0.100
12/03/08	0.170
09/03/08	0.170
05/30/08	0.170
03/05/08	0.170
12/05/07	0.170
09/05/07	0.160
05/30/07	0.160
03/07/07	0.160
12/06/06	0.160
08/30/06	0.160
06/08/06	0.160
03/08/06	0.160
11/29/05	0.160
08/31/05	0.160
06/01/05	0.160
03/02/05	0.160
12/01/04	0.150
09/01/04	0.150
06/02/04	0.150
03/03/04	0.150
12/03/03	0.150
09/03/03	0.150
06/04/03	0.150
03/05/03	0.150
12/04/02	0.150
09/04/02	0.150
06/05/02	0.150
03/06/02	0.150
12/05/01	0.150
09/05/01	0.150
05/30/01	0.150
03/07/01	0.150
12/06/00	0.143
08/30/00	0.143
05/31/00	0.143
03/01/00	0.143
12/01/99	0.143
09/01/99	0.130
06/02/99	0.130
03/03/99	0.130
12/02/98	0.130
09/02/98	0.118
06/03/98	0.118
12/03/97	0.118
09/03/97	0.091
06/04/97	0.107
03/05/97	0.107
12/04/96	0.107
10/02/96	0.097
10/01/96	0.098
09/04/96	0.098
06/05/96	0.098
03/06/96	0.098
12/06/95	0.098
09/06/95	0.085
08/11/95	0.078
* Data may be adjusted for splits; we are not responsible for data errors; always verify data with the company.

According to the ETF Finder at ETF Channel, FFBC makes up 2.81% of the Dynamic Banking Portfolio ETF (AMEX:PJB) which is trading lower by about 1.4% on the day Monday.

��See what other ETFs contain FFBC �
��See what other stocks are held by PJB �

FFBC operates in the Banking & Savings sector, among companies like City National Corp. (NYSE:CYN) which is down about 1.1% today, and East West Bancorp, Inc (NASDAQ:EWBC) trading up by about 0.1%. Below is a three month price history chart comparing the stock performance of FFBC, versus CYN and EWBC.

FFBC,CYN,EWBC Relative Performance Chart

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This Article's Word Cloud: Bancorp Banking DDDDDD EWBC FFBC FFFFFF Financial First Monday NASDAQ Portfolio Russell about above always amounts annual asset chart companies company consider data designed dividend dividends each escape follow have history investors other over performance portfolio return share shares stock stocks that total trading what whether which with would yield

First Financial Bancorp (FFBC) Passes Through 3% Yield Mark

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