First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Reaches New 1-Year High at $28.23

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $28.23 and last traded at $27.98, with a volume of 10737 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $28.09.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $24.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.43. The company has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.33 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $314.22 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.72 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is an increase from First Financial Bancorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is presently 37.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.64, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Financial Bancorp.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 23.9% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 305,942 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,917,000 after buying an additional 58,963 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 115.9% in the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 31,170 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division lifted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 17.8% in the 1st quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 1,038,758 shares of the bank’s stock worth $23,289,000 after purchasing an additional 157,190 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 1st quarter valued at about $752,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position 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 valued at $1,049,000 after purchasing an additional 20,299 shares in the last quarter. 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.