First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC Shares Acquired by Denali Advisors LLC

Denali Advisors LLC grew its stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 8.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 310,200 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,700 shares during the quarter. First Financial Bancorp. makes up approximately 0.9% of Denali Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Denali Advisors LLC owned about 0.31% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $7,761,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Bogart Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. MAI Capital Management raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 530.6% in the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,545 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 2,741.3% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,790 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 1,727 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,903 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, CFO James M. Anderson sold 4,263 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $127,890.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 118,537 shares in the company, valued at $3,556,110. This represents a 3.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Claude E. Davis sold 26,123 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.45, for a total transaction of $795,445.35. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $925,984.50. The trade was a 46.21% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 40,706 shares of company stock worth $1,235,172 in the last quarter. 1.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Friday, March 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $34.00 price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Hovde Group boosted their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, First Financial Bancorp. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.00.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:FFBC opened at $30.60 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.81 and a beta of 0.94. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1-year low of $22.93 and a 1-year high of $31.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $28.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.05.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.34%.

First Financial Bancorp. Company Profile

First Financial Bancorp (NASDAQ: FFBC) is a bank holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the parent of First Financial Bank. The company provides a comprehensive suite of commercial and consumer banking services through a network of more than 100 full-service banking centers and mortgage offices across Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. Its core mission centers on delivering personalized relationship banking to businesses, individuals and public sector clients.

First Financial Bank’s product portfolio includes deposit solutions such as checking, savings and money market accounts, alongside a range of lending offerings that cover commercial and industrial loans, real estate and construction financing, home mortgages and home equity lines of credit.