First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Shares Purchased by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) by 73.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 153,281 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 64,745 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.16% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $3,867,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 26,617 shares of the bank's stock worth $591,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Souders Financial Advisors increased its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 72,038 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,818,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 5.2% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 23.1% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,340 shares of the bank's stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 627 shares during the period. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 63.9% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 1,732 shares of the bank's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Scott T. Crawley sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.31, for a total value of $87,930.00. Following 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 $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 quarter, insiders sold 40,700 shares of company stock valued at $1,106,829. Insiders own 2.04% of the company's stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Up 1.6 %

First Financial Bancorp. stock traded up $0.48 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $30.34. The stock had a trading volume of 539,061 shares, compared to its average volume of 375,784. The company has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.87 and a beta of 0.99. The business's 50 day moving average price is $26.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.70. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52 week low of $19.92 and a 52 week high of $31.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $302.82 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $214.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. First Financial Bancorp.'s payout ratio is 41.38%.

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.