Richard S. Dennen Sells 932 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Stock

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) insider Richard S. Dennen sold 932 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 74,720 shares in the company, valued at $2,241,600. This represents a 1.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Down 1.0 %

First Financial Bancorp. stock traded down $0.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $28.78. 58,885 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 375,238. First Financial Bancorp. has a fifty-two week low of $19.92 and a fifty-two week high of $30.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.53 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $25.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.42.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.32% and a net margin of 18.55%. The company had revenue of $302.82 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $214.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is currently 41.38%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 76.6% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 46,793 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,049,000 after buying an additional 20,299 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.3% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 83,266 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,867,000 after purchasing an additional 1,094 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 10.0% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 63,715 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,428,000 after purchasing an additional 5,773 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 7.4% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 19,020 shares of the bank’s stock worth $426,000 after purchasing an additional 1,307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 115.9% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 58,070 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,264,000 after purchasing an additional 31,170 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FFBC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th.

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.