First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Insider Richard S. Dennen Sells 932 Shares

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) insider Richard S. Dennen sold 932 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $27,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,720 shares in the company, valued at $2,241,600. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

NASDAQ:FFBC traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $29.01. 81,756 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 375,620. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $25.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market capitalization of $2.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.56 and a beta of 0.99. First Financial Bancorp. has a one year low of $19.92 and a one year high of $30.11.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.32% and a net margin of 18.55%. The business 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 posted $0.67 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.53 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FFBC. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 63.9% during the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 1,732 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 2,976.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the bank’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,935 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 23.1% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,340 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the second quarter worth about $77,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Company 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.