First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) saw a large increase in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,650,000 shares, an increase of 9.3% from the October 31st total of 1,510,000 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 419,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.9 days.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Down 1.6 %

NASDAQ:FFBC opened at $28.84 on Wednesday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $26.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.99. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52 week low of $20.59 and a 52 week high of $31.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.43 and a beta of 1.01.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $302.82 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 last year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.53 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 70,652 shares in the company, valued at $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 available at 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 sale, the insider now owns 15,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $404,951.16. This trade represents a 19.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 11,700 shares of company stock worth $335,429. Corporate insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FFBC. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 2,976.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,935 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 23.1% during the 2nd 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. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.23% 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.