Cibc World Markets Corp Buys Shares of 8,837 First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 8,837 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $238,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in FFBC. State Street Corp raised its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 0.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,643,440 shares of the bank’s stock worth $117,154,000 after purchasing an additional 39,655 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,271,990 shares of the bank’s stock worth $57,333,000 after buying an additional 34,977 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,304,922 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $35,076,000 after buying an additional 22,573 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 849,678 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $22,839,000 after buying an additional 126,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 511,868 shares of the bank’s stock worth $13,759,000 after acquiring an additional 20,636 shares during the period. 77.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $33.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday, January 24th. 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 research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider James R. Shank sold 7,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.92, for a total value of $189,392.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,141 shares in the company, valued at $277,633.72. This represents a 40.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ FFBC opened at $25.36 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12 month low of $20.59 and a 12 month high of $31.18. The company has a market cap of $2.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.57 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.88.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.06. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 18.67% and a return on equity of 10.52%. Sell-side analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.79%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.00%.

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.