Insider Selling: First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Insider Sells $27,960.00 in Stock

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) 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 value of $27,960.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 74,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,241,600. This represents a 1.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ FFBC opened at $29.10 on Friday. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1-year low of $19.92 and a 1-year high of $30.11. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $25.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.54 and a beta of 0.99. 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. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 18.55% and a return on equity of 10.32%. The business had revenue of $302.82 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $214.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.38%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FFBC. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 63.9% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 1,732 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 2,976.9% in the third quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the bank’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,935 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 23.1% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,340 shares of the bank’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada increased 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.

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.