First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,640,000 shares, a growth of 10.1% from the November 30th total of 1,490,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 431,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.8 days. Approximately 1.8% of the company's shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on FFBC. Stephens upgraded First Financial Bancorp. from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report 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 research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FFBC traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $26.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 188,767 shares, compared to its average volume of 380,706. First Financial Bancorp. has a fifty-two week low of $20.59 and a fifty-two week high of $31.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $28.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.59 and a beta of 1.01.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last issued 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 analyst estimates 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Financial Bancorp.

In related news, insider James R. Shank sold 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,374 shares in the company, valued at $404,951.16. This represents a 19.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 4,068 shares of First Financial Bancorp. 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 70,652 shares in the company, valued at $2,120,266.52. The trade was a 5.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 11,700 shares of company stock worth $335,429. 2.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FFBC. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 2,976.9% in the third quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the bank's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,935 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the second quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the third quarter worth approximately $149,000. 77.23% of the stock is owned by 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.