Contravisory Investment Management Inc. Takes $273,000 Position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 10,160 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $273,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FFBC. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 491,232 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,394,000 after buying an additional 20,449 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. in the 2nd quarter valued at $300,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,271,990 shares of the bank’s stock worth $57,333,000 after purchasing an additional 34,977 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 166,170 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,192,000 after buying an additional 33,464 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. in the second quarter valued at $762,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at First Financial Bancorp.

In related news, insider James R. Shank sold 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.34, for a total transaction of $97,458.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $404,951.16. This represents a 19.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $27,960.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,241,600. The trade was a 1.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,700 shares of company stock valued at $335,429. 2.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FFBC opened at $27.55 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $28.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.88 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12 month low of $20.59 and a 12 month high of $31.18.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $302.82 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $214.00 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.32% and a net margin of 18.55%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.67 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on FFBC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens raised shares of First Financial Bancorp. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th.

First Financial Bancorp. Profile

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.