Insider Selling: First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Insider Sells 7,600 Shares of Stock

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

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Down 1.1 %

First Financial Bancorp. stock opened at $24.75 on Friday. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1-year low of $20.59 and a 1-year high of $31.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.31 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.88.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.06. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 18.67% and a return on equity of 10.52%. On average, analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.88%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is 40.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FFBC. Royce & Associates LP grew its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 62.9% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 80,853 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,040,000 after purchasing an additional 31,225 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 28,862 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $728,000 after purchasing an additional 3,747 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 73.1% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 153,281 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,867,000 after purchasing an additional 64,745 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,013,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 41.7% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 21,470 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $542,000 after purchasing an additional 6,320 shares in the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.