First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Insider Richard S. Dennen Sells 932 Shares

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) insider Richard S. Dennen sold 932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $27,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 74,720 shares in the company, valued at $2,241,600. This represents a 1.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

NASDAQ FFBC traded down $0.30 during trading on Friday, reaching $28.78. 58,885 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 375,238. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1-year low of $19.92 and a 1-year high of $30.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $25.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.42. The company has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.53 and a beta of 0.99.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.32% and a net margin of 18.55%. The business had revenue of $302.82 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $214.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.67 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.53 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.38%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FFBC. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 63.9% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 1,732 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 2,976.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the bank’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,935 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 23.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $77,000. 77.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.