First Financial Bancorp. (FFBC) to Release Earnings on Thursday

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC – Get Rating) will be releasing its earnings data after the market closes on Thursday, January 26th. Analysts expect First Financial Bancorp. to post earnings of $0.68 per share for the quarter. Persons that are interested in registering for the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FFBC traded down $0.20 on Tuesday, hitting $23.34. 214,295 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 301,426. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1-year low of $18.75 and a 1-year high of $26.72. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $24.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.22 and a beta of 1.07.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FFBC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 24th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Wednesday, October 12th. They set a “hold” rating for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 20,246 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.20, for a total transaction of $530,445.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 93,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,444,722. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky purchased a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the third quarter valued at $658,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 16.4% during the third quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 53,586 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,130,000 after purchasing an additional 7,551 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the third quarter worth about $245,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 6.5% during the third quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 19,362 shares of the bank’s stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 1,174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 5.7% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 98,073 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,067,000 after purchasing an additional 5,286 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.35% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Company Profile

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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 accepts various deposit products, such as interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing accounts, time deposits, and cash management services for commercial customers.