Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $12.39 Million Holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 491,232 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 20,449 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.51% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $12,394,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 0.9% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,732,162 shares of the bank's stock worth $149,587,000 after acquiring an additional 60,612 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,643,440 shares of the bank's stock worth $117,154,000 after purchasing an additional 39,655 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,271,990 shares of the bank's stock worth $57,333,000 after purchasing an additional 34,977 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,282,349 shares of the bank's stock valued at $32,354,000 after purchasing an additional 23,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Bank Trust Division boosted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 4.2% during the third quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 901,908 shares of the bank's stock worth $22,755,000 after buying an additional 36,679 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company's stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

First Financial Bancorp. stock traded down $0.11 on Monday, reaching $26.98. 185,424 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 381,471. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $27.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.78. The stock has a market cap of $2.58 billion, a PE ratio of 11.63 and a beta of 1.01. First Financial Bancorp. has a twelve month low of $20.59 and a twelve month high of $31.18.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 10.32% and a net margin of 18.55%. The company had revenue of $302.82 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $214.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued 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 3.56%. First Financial Bancorp.'s payout ratio is 41.38%.

Insider Activity at First Financial Bancorp.

In other news, insider Scott T. Crawley sold 3,000 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were 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 approximately $565,067.49. The trade was a 13.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $122,080.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 70,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,120,266.52. The trade was a 5.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,700 shares of company stock worth $335,429. Company insiders own 2.04% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FFBC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective 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. Stephens upgraded First Financial Bancorp. from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th.

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.