First Trust Advisors LP Increases Stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) by 38.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,186,286 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 328,788 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 1.24% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $31,887,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,961,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,827,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 98.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 447,824 shares of the bank's stock worth $12,038,000 after acquiring an additional 221,683 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 849,678 shares of the bank's stock valued at $22,839,000 after acquiring an additional 126,996 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 140.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 190,742 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,812,000 after acquiring an additional 111,309 shares in the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

NASDAQ FFBC traded up $0.22 on Tuesday, reaching $23.39. 313,681 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 418,861. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $24.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.57. The firm has a market cap of $2.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.74 and a beta of 0.85. 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 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63. The business had revenue of $201.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $214.80 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 18.67% and a return on equity of 10.52%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FFBC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Friday, January 24th.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Financial Bancorp.

In other news, insider James R. Shank sold 7,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.92, for a total value of $189,392.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,141 shares in the company, valued at $277,633.72. This represents a 40.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

First Financial Bancorp. 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.