First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Shares Down 3.3% – Here’s Why

by · The Markets Daily

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC – Get Free Report) fell 3.3% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $24.12 and last traded at $24.59. 28,831 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 365,904 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.43.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on FFBC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on First Financial Bancorp.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a PE ratio of 10.25 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $25.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.84.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 19.67% and a return on equity of 10.69%. The firm had revenue of $302.82 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $214.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.67 EPS. Research analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.90%. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is 38.71%.

Insider Activity at First Financial Bancorp.

In related news, insider Claude E. Davis sold 29,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.60, for a total value of $771,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 53,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,425,121.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FFBC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,939,804 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $259,820,000 after purchasing an additional 91,126 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,732,162 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $149,587,000 after buying an additional 60,612 shares during the period. First Financial Bank Trust Division boosted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 4.2% during the third quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 901,908 shares of the bank’s stock worth $22,755,000 after buying an additional 36,679 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 625,822 shares of the bank’s stock worth $14,031,000 after acquiring an additional 39,870 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 94.0% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

About First Financial Bancorp.

(Get Free Report)

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.

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