First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Short Interest Down 10.1% in October

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) saw a significant drop in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,510,000 shares, a drop of 10.1% from the October 15th total of 1,680,000 shares. Approximately 1.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 414,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FFBC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th.

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bancorp.

In related news, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 932 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $27,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,241,600. This represents a 1.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Claude E. Davis sold 29,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.60, for a total transaction of $771,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 53,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,425,121.60. The trade was a 35.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 36,632 shares of company stock valued at $984,748 over the last three months. 2.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Financial Bancorp.

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FFBC. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 94.0% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 338,711 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,526,000 after buying an additional 164,105 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 162.4% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 242,187 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,381,000 after purchasing an additional 149,896 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 140.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 190,742 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,812,000 after buying an additional 111,309 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the third quarter worth $2,792,000. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 41.1% during the 2nd quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 302,700 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,726,000 after purchasing an additional 88,100 shares during the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

FFBC stock traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $28.76. 67,666 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 374,628. First Financial Bancorp. has a twelve month low of $19.92 and a twelve month high of $30.11. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.53. 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 has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.37 and a beta of 0.99.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $302.82 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $214.00 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 18.55% and a return on equity of 10.32%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.53 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is presently 41.38%.

About First Financial Bancorp.

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.