Barclays PLC Raises Position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) by 140.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 190,742 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 111,309 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned about 0.20% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $4,812,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $300,000. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 25.2% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 166,170 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,192,000 after purchasing an additional 33,464 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the second quarter valued at $762,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the 3rd quarter worth $2,792,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 162.4% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 242,187 shares of the bank's stock worth $5,381,000 after buying an additional 149,896 shares during the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bancorp.

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider Scott T. Crawley sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $565,067.49. This represents a 13.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 4,068 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.01, for a total value of $122,080.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 70,652 shares in the company, valued at $2,120,266.52. This represents a 5.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,700 shares of company stock valued at $335,429. 2.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Up 1.8 %

NASDAQ:FFBC traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $27.31. 2,204,302 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 384,265. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52 week low of $20.59 and a 52 week high of $31.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.77 and a beta of 1.01. The firm's 50 day moving average is $27.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.53.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $302.82 million during 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 last year, the company earned $0.67 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. First Financial Bancorp.'s payout ratio is 41.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on FFBC. Stephens raised shares of First Financial Bancorp. from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on 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. 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.