Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP Boosts Stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP increased its position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 29.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,932 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,505 shares during the quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $503,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 94.0% during the second 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 during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 162.4% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 242,187 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,381,000 after acquiring an additional 149,896 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC grew its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 41.1% in the second 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 period. Choreo LLC increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 176.3% during the second quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 127,326 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,820,000 after purchasing an additional 81,245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,013,000. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

Shares of FFBC opened at $29.82 on Wednesday. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52 week low of $19.92 and a 52 week 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. The stock has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.85 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $26.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.75.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. The firm 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.38%.

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bancorp.

In other news, insider Claude E. Davis sold 29,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.60, for a total transaction of $771,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 53,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,425,121.60. This represents a 35.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider James R. Shank sold 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 15,374 shares in the company, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 40,700 shares of company stock worth $1,106,829. Corporate insiders own 2.04% 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.