First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Holdings Lifted by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 1.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,271,990 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 34,977 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.38% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $57,333,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.8% during 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 during the last quarter. Souders Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 0.9% in the third quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 72,038 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,818,000 after buying an additional 617 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,525 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $316,000 after acquiring an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted 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 acquiring an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

Shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock opened at $27.31 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a PE ratio of 11.77 and a beta of 1.01. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12 month low of $20.59 and a 12 month high of $31.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.53.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $302.82 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.67 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FFBC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens upgraded shares of First Financial Bancorp. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Financial Bancorp.

In other news, insider Scott T. Crawley sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was 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 directly owns 19,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $565,067.49. This trade represents a 13.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider James R. Shank sold 3,700 shares of the business’s 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 completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,700 shares of company stock valued at $335,429 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.

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.