Hancock Whitney Corp Boosts Stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Hancock Whitney Corp increased its position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 17.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 25,937 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,794 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $582,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FFBC. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. during the 4th quarter valued at $15,348,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 2,655.1% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 518,061 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,360,000 after purchasing an additional 499,257 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division boosted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 17.8% in the first quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 1,038,758 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $23,289,000 after acquiring an additional 157,190 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,625,010 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $157,347,000 after buying an additional 155,097 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,939,804 shares of the bank’s stock worth $259,820,000 after purchasing an additional 91,126 shares in the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on FFBC. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FFBC traded down $1.16 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $26.20. 275,794 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 354,608. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company has a market cap of $2.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.03 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.53. First Financial Bancorp. has a twelve month low of $17.23 and a twelve month high of $28.25.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $314.22 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $203.50 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 19.67% and a return on equity of 10.69%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.72 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This is a positive change from First Financial Bancorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Financial Bancorp.

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider Richard S. Dennen 10,000 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider Richard S. Dennen 10,000 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 10,500 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.64, for a total transaction of $248,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 93,152 shares in the company, valued at $2,202,113.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.

About First Financial Bancorp.

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.