Short Interest in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Expands By 5.3%

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,580,000 shares, a growth of 5.3% from the August 31st total of 1,500,000 shares. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 429,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bancorp.

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider Claude E. Davis sold 29,000 shares of the business’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 in the company, valued at $1,425,121.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Financial Bancorp.

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 63.9% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 1,732 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 6,820.5% during the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,045 shares of the bank’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 3,001 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 23.1% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,340 shares of the bank’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. during the 2nd quarter valued at $96,000. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

Shares of FFBC traded down $0.86 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $24.37. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 342,849 shares, compared to its average volume of 366,215. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.45. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1-year low of $17.23 and a 1-year high of $28.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.88 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 19.67% and a return on equity of 10.69%. The business had revenue of $314.22 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $203.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.72 EPS. Analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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