Fmr LLC Has $1.86 Million Holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Fmr LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 397.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 73,750 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 58,935 shares during the period. Fmr LLC’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $1,861,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 0.9% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,732,162 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $149,587,000 after purchasing an additional 60,612 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,282,349 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,354,000 after purchasing an additional 23,472 shares during the period. First Financial Bank Trust Division increased its holdings in 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 valued at $22,755,000 after purchasing an additional 36,679 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 4.3% in 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. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 94.0% in 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 during the period. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Stephens upgraded First Financial Bancorp. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FFBC opened at $28.94 on Monday. 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 stock has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.47 and a beta of 1.01. First Financial Bancorp. has a fifty-two week low of $20.59 and a fifty-two week high of $31.18. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.35.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 18.55% and a return on equity of 10.32%. The firm had revenue of $302.82 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $214.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.67 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is 41.38%.

Insider Activity at First Financial Bancorp.

In other news, insider Scott T. Crawley sold 3,000 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were 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 approximately $565,067.49. The trade was a 13.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 932 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $27,960.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,241,600. This represents a 1.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,700 shares of company stock worth $335,429. Corporate 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.