Contravisory Investment Management Inc. Purchases New Position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 10,160 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $273,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 94.0% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 338,711 shares of the bank's stock valued at $7,526,000 after acquiring an additional 164,105 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 60,612 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the second quarter worth $1,205,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 12.3% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 24,848 shares of the bank's stock valued at $552,000 after buying an additional 2,716 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the second quarter worth about $337,000. 77.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FFBC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stephens upgraded First Financial Bancorp. from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

First Financial Bancorp. stock traded up $0.40 during trading on Friday, hitting $27.95. The stock had a trading volume of 1,135,740 shares, compared to its average volume of 389,408. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock's 50 day moving average is $28.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.24. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1 year low of $20.59 and a 1 year high of $31.18. The stock has a market cap of $2.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.05 and a beta of 1.02.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 18.55% and a return on equity of 10.32%. The business had revenue of $302.82 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $214.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.52 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.'s payout ratio is 41.38%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 4,068 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $2,120,266.52. The trade was a 5.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Scott T. Crawley sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.31, for a total transaction of $87,930.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,279 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $565,067.49. The trade was a 13.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,700 shares of company stock worth $335,429 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.04% of the company's stock.

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.