First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Stock Position Trimmed by Amalgamated Bank

Amalgamated Bank trimmed its position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 3.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,125 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 948 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $647,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.8% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 26,617 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $591,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 23.1% during the second 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 period. EntryPoint Capital LLC increased 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 buying an additional 675 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 48,000 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 93.9% during the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 2,065 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

NASDAQ:FFBC opened at $24.81 on Friday. 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. has a one year low of $17.23 and a one year high of $28.25. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $25.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.41. The stock has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.00 and a beta of 0.99.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $314.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $203.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.72 EPS. Analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, September 2nd were given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.87%. This is an increase from First Financial Bancorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on FFBC shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a 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 Transactions at First Financial Bancorp.

In related news, insider Claude E. Davis sold 29,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.60, for a total transaction of $771,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 53,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,425,121.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.

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.