KBC Group NV Grows Holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

KBC Group NV raised its stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 82.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,150 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,333 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $138,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 0.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,643,440 shares of the bank’s stock worth $117,154,000 after acquiring an additional 39,655 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,271,990 shares of the bank’s stock worth $57,333,000 after purchasing an additional 34,977 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,282,349 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,354,000 after purchasing an additional 23,472 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 4.3% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 21.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 295,967 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,006,000 after buying an additional 52,739 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Financial Bancorp.

In related news, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 4,068 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.01, for a total value of $122,080.68. Following the sale, the insider now owns 70,652 shares in the company, valued at $2,120,266.52. The trade was a 5.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of FFBC stock opened at $29.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The business has a 50-day moving average of $27.80 and a 200 day moving average of $26.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.77 billion, a PE ratio of 12.10 and a beta of 1.02. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1-year low of $20.59 and a 1-year high of $31.18.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.06. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.52% and a net margin of 18.67%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.62 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is 40.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FFBC has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th.

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.