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

Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP boosted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 12.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,450 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,518 shares during the quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $603,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 221.9% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,717 shares of the bank’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,873 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the 4th quarter valued at about $76,000. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FFBC opened at $25.35 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company has a market cap of $2.42 billion, a PE ratio of 10.56 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $26.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.88. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1-year low of $20.59 and a 1-year high of $31.18.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.06. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 18.67% and a return on equity of 10.52%. Sell-side analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.79%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

Insider Activity at First Financial Bancorp.

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider James R. Shank sold 7,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.92, for a total value of $189,392.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $277,633.72. This trade represents a 40.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FFBC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

First Financial Bancorp. 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.