Chartwell Investment Partners LLC Sells 29,926 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Chartwell Investment Partners LLC decreased its position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) by 9.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 296,050 shares of the bank's stock after selling 29,926 shares during the quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC owned 0.31% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $7,469,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 26,617 shares of the bank's stock valued at $591,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 5.2% in the third quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,525 shares of the bank's stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 23.1% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,340 shares of the bank's stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 63.9% in the first 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. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 48,000 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,067,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.23% of the company's stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Down 1.0 %

First Financial Bancorp. stock traded down $0.30 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $29.35. 400,760 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 376,165. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $25.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.30. The firm has a market cap of $2.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.78 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1 year low of $19.00 and a 1 year high of $30.11.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $302.82 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $214.00 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.32% and a net margin of 18.55%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.67 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

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. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FFBC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th.

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bancorp.

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider James R. Shank sold 3,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.34, for a total transaction of $97,458.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $404,951.16. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider James R. Shank sold 3,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.34, for a total value of $97,458.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,374 shares of the company's stock, valued at $404,951.16. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Claude E. Davis sold 29,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.60, for a total transaction of $771,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 53,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,425,121.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,700 shares of company stock worth $956,788 over the last three months. 2.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.