First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Stock Position Raised by Fmr LLC

FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) by 397.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 73,750 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 58,935 shares during the quarter. FMR LLC owned about 0.08% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $1,861,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 26,617 shares of the bank's stock valued at $591,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the period. Souders Financial Advisors raised 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 acquiring an additional 617 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 5.2% in the third quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,525 shares of the bank's stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 23.1% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,340 shares of the bank's stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 627 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.9% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 48,000 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. 77.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on FFBC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens upgraded First Financial Bancorp. from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th.

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bancorp.

In other news, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 4,068 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.01, for a total transaction of $122,080.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 70,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,120,266.52. This represents a 5.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider James R. Shank sold 3,700 shares of First Financial Bancorp. 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 transaction, the insider now owns 15,374 shares in the company, valued at $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 three months, insiders sold 11,700 shares of company stock valued at $335,429. Company insiders own 2.04% of the company's stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

NASDAQ FFBC traded up $0.33 on Monday, hitting $29.27. The stock had a trading volume of 314,201 shares, compared to its average volume of 375,590. The company's 50-day moving average is $27.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.35. First Financial Bancorp. has a one year low of $20.59 and a one year high of $31.18. The stock has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.62 and a beta of 1.01. 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. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last announced 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 company 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. On average, analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. First Financial Bancorp.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.38%.

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.