First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Insider Sells $189,392.00 in Stock

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) insider James R. Shank sold 7,600 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.92, for a total transaction of $189,392.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $277,633.72. The trade was a 40.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

First Financial Bancorp. stock traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $25.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 415,503 shares, compared to its average volume of 361,372. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $27.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.91. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1-year low of $20.59 and a 1-year high of $31.18. The company has a market cap of $2.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.43 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.06. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.52% and a net margin of 18.67%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. during the third quarter worth about $30,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 68.9% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,502 shares of the bank’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 221.9% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,717 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,873 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, January 27th.

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.