Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Invests $2.01 Million in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 79,795 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $2,013,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 10.0% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 63,715 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,428,000 after buying an additional 5,773 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 4.4% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 99,222 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,223,000 after purchasing an additional 4,157 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 63.9% during the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 1,732 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 4.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 75,665 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,697,000 after purchasing an additional 3,332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp grew its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 17.1% during the first quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 25,937 shares of the bank’s stock worth $582,000 after purchasing an additional 3,794 shares during the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on FFBC. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of 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.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 932 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 74,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,241,600. The trade was a 1.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider James R. Shank sold 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.34, for a total transaction of $97,458.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $404,951.16. The trade was a 19.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 36,632 shares of company stock valued at $984,748. 2.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Up 1.7 %

FFBC opened at $29.86 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a PE ratio of 12.87 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. First Financial Bancorp. has a twelve month low of $19.92 and a twelve month high of $30.11. The company has a fifty day moving average of $26.23 and a 200-day moving average of $24.69.

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

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is 41.38%.

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.