Private Advisor Group LLC Takes Position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 12,616 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $318,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FFBC. EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 63.9% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 1,732 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings 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. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $77,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $96,000. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $169,000. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on FFBC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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 research note on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of 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.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Scott T. Crawley sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.31, for a total transaction of $87,930.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $565,067.49. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Scott T. Crawley sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.31, for a total value of $87,930.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $565,067.49. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider James R. Shank sold 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.34, for a total transaction of $97,458.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $404,951.16. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,700 shares of company stock valued at $956,788 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

Shares of FFBC opened at $29.40 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.81 billion, a PE ratio of 12.63 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.12. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1-year low of $19.00 and a 1-year high of $29.77.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 18.55% and a return on equity of 10.32%. The firm had revenue of $302.82 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $214.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.58 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is 41.38%.

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.