Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 56,048 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 38.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 88,536 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 56,048 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $1,967,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FFBC. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the fourth quarter valued at about $15,348,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 94.0% in 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. First Financial Bank Trust Division increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 17.8% in the first quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 1,038,758 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $23,289,000 after buying an additional 157,190 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,939,804 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $259,820,000 after buying an additional 91,126 shares during the period. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 41.1% in the second quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 302,700 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,726,000 after buying an additional 88,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Financial Bancorp.

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider Claude E. Davis sold 29,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.60, for a total value of $771,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 53,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,425,121.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Down 3.4 %

NASDAQ FFBC opened at $24.37 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.47. First Financial Bancorp. has a one year low of $17.23 and a one year high of $28.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.83 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.69% and a net margin of 19.67%. The firm had revenue of $314.22 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $203.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 2nd were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This is a boost from First Financial Bancorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock 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.