Insider Selling: First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Insider Sells 4,068 Shares of Stock

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) insider Richard S. Dennen sold 4,068 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.01, for a total value of $122,080.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 70,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,120,266.52. The trade was a 5.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FFBC opened at $29.82 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $26.33 and a 200 day moving average of $24.75. The company has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a PE ratio of 12.85 and a beta of 0.99. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12-month low of $19.92 and a 12-month high of $31.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

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

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. 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 3.22%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.38%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FFBC. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 63.9% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 1,732 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 2,976.9% during the third quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 1,935 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 23.1% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,340 shares of the bank’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About First Financial Bancorp.

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.