First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.24

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, October 22nd,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of 0.24 per share by the bank on Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd.

First Financial Bancorp. has a dividend payout ratio of 39.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect First Financial Bancorp. to earn $2.48 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.96 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 38.7%.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

Shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock opened at $29.53 on Friday. First Financial Bancorp. has a one year low of $20.07 and a one year high of $31.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.66 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.86. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $302.82 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $214.00 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.32% and a net margin of 18.55%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.67 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bancorp.

In related news, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 4,068 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.01, for a total value of $122,080.68. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 70,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,120,266.52. This represents a 5.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider James R. Shank sold 3,700 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $404,951.16. The trade was a 19.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,700 shares of company stock worth $335,429 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.04% 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.