iSAM Funds UK Ltd Takes Position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 9,325 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $235,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 1,935 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in 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 last quarter. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the second quarter valued at about $77,000. 77.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Financial Bancorp.

In related news, insider James R. Shank sold 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.34, for a total value of $97,458.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,374 shares in the company, valued at $404,951.16. This represents a 19.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Scott T. Crawley sold 3,000 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.31, for a total value of $87,930.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,279 shares in the company, valued at $565,067.49. The trade was a 13.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,700 shares of company stock worth $335,429. 2.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ FFBC opened at $29.06 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $2.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.53 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 company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The business’s fifty day moving average is $27.07 and its 200 day moving average is $25.12.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.32% and a net margin of 18.55%. The firm had revenue of $302.82 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $214.00 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is 41.38%.

First Financial Bancorp. 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.