First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Shares Purchased by Royce & Associates LP

Royce & Associates LP grew its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 62.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 80,853 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,225 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $2,040,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of FFBC. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,732,162 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $149,587,000 after acquiring an additional 60,612 shares during the period. First Financial Bank Trust Division grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 4.2% in the third quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 901,908 shares of the bank’s stock worth $22,755,000 after purchasing an additional 36,679 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 4.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 491,232 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,394,000 after purchasing an additional 20,449 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 94.0% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 338,711 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,526,000 after purchasing an additional 164,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 41.1% in the second quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 302,700 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,726,000 after purchasing an additional 88,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at First Financial Bancorp.

In other news, insider James R. Shank sold 3,700 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.34, for a total value of $97,458.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $404,951.16. This trade represents a 19.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 932 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $27,960.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 74,720 shares in the company, valued at $2,241,600. This represents a 1.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 36,632 shares of company stock valued at $984,748 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Down 0.4 %

FFBC opened at $28.79 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a PE ratio of 12.41 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $25.96 and its 200-day moving average is $24.57. First Financial Bancorp. has a one year low of $19.92 and a one year high of $30.11.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.32% and a net margin of 18.55%. The firm had revenue of $302.82 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $214.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors 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 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FFBC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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 increased their price objective 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.

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.