Royce & Associates LP Has $2.04 Million Stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) by 62.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 80,853 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 31,225 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned about 0.08% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $2,040,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Souders Financial Advisors grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 72,038 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,818,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 4.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 491,232 shares of the bank's stock valued at $12,394,000 after acquiring an additional 20,449 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 7.6% in the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,968 shares of the bank's stock valued at $907,000 after acquiring an additional 2,543 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the third quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Eagle Ridge Investment Management bought a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the third quarter valued at $210,000. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FFBC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 29th.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Financial Bancorp.

In related news, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 932 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $27,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,720 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,241,600. The trade was a 1.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider James R. Shank sold 3,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $404,951.16. The trade was a 19.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 36,632 shares of company stock worth $984,748. Insiders own 2.04% of the company's stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

Shares of FFBC stock traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $28.59. 36,036 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 373,780. The stock's 50-day moving average is $25.96 and its 200-day moving average is $24.57. 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 52 week low of $19.92 and a 52 week high of $30.11. The stock has a market cap of $2.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.41 and a beta of 0.99.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $302.82 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $214.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.67 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.53 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.38%.

First Financial Bancorp. Company 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.