First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Shares Acquired by Nordea Investment Management AB

Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) by 21.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 295,967 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 52,739 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB owned about 0.31% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $8,006,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 2,976.9% during the third quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the bank's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,935 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the third quarter worth $149,000. Finally, Eagle Ridge Investment Management acquired a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. in the third quarter valued at $210,000. 77.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens raised shares of First Financial Bancorp. from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price 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. Price Performance

Shares of FFBC stock traded down $0.77 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $25.69. The stock had a trading volume of 453,115 shares, compared to its average volume of 330,586. The company has a market cap of $2.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12-month low of $20.59 and a 12-month high of $31.18. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.06.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $214.00 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%. First Financial Bancorp.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.38%.

Insider Activity at First Financial Bancorp.

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 4,068 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were 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 approximately $2,120,266.52. This represents a 5.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Scott T. Crawley sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.31, for a total transaction of $87,930.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly 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 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 owned by corporate 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.