Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC Makes New $208,000 Investment in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC purchased a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 7,750 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of FFBC. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 4.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 491,232 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,394,000 after purchasing an additional 20,449 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the second quarter valued at $300,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the 4th quarter worth about $273,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,271,990 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $57,333,000 after buying an additional 34,977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. increased its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 25.2% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 166,170 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,192,000 after acquiring an additional 33,464 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider James R. Shank sold 3,700 shares of the 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. This trade represents a 19.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 4,068 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.01, for a total value of $122,080.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 70,652 shares in the company, valued at $2,120,266.52. This represents a 5.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,700 shares of company stock worth $335,429. 2.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $33.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price 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.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock opened at $27.73 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.55. The firm has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.95 and a beta of 1.02. 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 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) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.06. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 18.55% and a return on equity of 10.32%. On average, equities analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.