Short Interest in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Decreases By 9.7%

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,490,000 shares, a decline of 9.7% from the November 15th total of 1,650,000 shares. Approximately 1.6% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 416,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.6 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on FFBC shares. Stephens upgraded shares of First Financial Bancorp. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Down 2.3 %

FFBC traded down $0.68 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $28.59. 379,343 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 375,605. The stock has a market cap of $2.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.32 and a beta of 1.01. First Financial Bancorp. has a twelve month low of $20.59 and a twelve month high of $31.18. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $27.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $302.82 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $214.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.53 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Financial Bancorp.

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider James R. Shank sold 3,700 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.34, for a total value of $97,458.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $404,951.16. The trade was a 19.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 932 shares of First Financial Bancorp. 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 sale, the insider now owns 74,720 shares in the company, valued at $2,241,600. This trade represents a 1.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,700 shares of company stock valued at $335,429. 2.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 23.1% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,340 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 627 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the second quarter valued at approximately $265,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 10.4% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 28,414 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $631,000 after buying an additional 2,687 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.9% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 48,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the period. Finally, Saxony Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 16.0% in the second quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC now owns 18,802 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $418,000 after buying an additional 2,596 shares during the period. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.