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

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 directly owns 74,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,241,600. This trade represents a 1.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

FFBC stock opened at $29.10 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $25.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.46. First Financial Bancorp. has a one year low of $19.92 and a one year high of $30.11. The company has a market capitalization of $2.78 billion, a PE ratio of 12.54 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $302.82 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period last year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is 41.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on FFBC. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 63.9% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 1,732 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,935 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 23.1% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,340 shares of the bank’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.