James R. Shank Sells 3,700 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Stock

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) 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 sale, the insider now owns 15,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $404,951.16. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of FFBC opened at $25.58 on Friday. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1-year low of $18.15 and a 1-year high of $28.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $25.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.31 and a beta of 0.99.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.69% and a net margin of 19.67%. The business had revenue of $302.82 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $214.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.58 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.75%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on FFBC. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 94.0% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 338,711 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,526,000 after buying an additional 164,105 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 162.4% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 242,187 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,381,000 after purchasing an additional 149,896 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 41.1% during the second quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 302,700 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,726,000 after purchasing an additional 88,100 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 176.3% during the second quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 127,326 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,820,000 after purchasing an additional 81,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,652,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Company 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.