Inspire Investing LLC Sells 1,373 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Inspire Investing LLC lessened its position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,820 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,373 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $452,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 37.7% in the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,251 shares of the bank’s stock worth $464,000 after acquiring an additional 4,726 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 4th quarter worth about $273,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 21.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 295,967 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,006,000 after purchasing an additional 52,739 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 491,232 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,394,000 after purchasing an additional 20,449 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FFBC has been the topic of several research reports. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Financial Bancorp.

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider Scott T. Crawley sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 4,068 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.01, for a total transaction of $122,080.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 70,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,120,266.52. This trade represents a 5.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,700 shares of company stock worth $335,429 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

NASDAQ FFBC opened at $27.73 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.95 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.49. 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.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last posted its earnings results 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 18.55% and a return on equity of 10.32%. As a group, research analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.