First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Director Dawn Morris Sells 740 Shares

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Director Dawn Morris sold 740 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.90, for a total value of $22,866.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 9,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $295,033.20. The trade was a 7.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

Shares of FFBC opened at $30.76 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.75. The stock has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.87 and a beta of 0.94. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52 week low of $22.93 and a 52 week high of $31.38.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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%.

Institutional Trading of First Financial Bancorp.

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Waverly Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 46,429 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,294,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,736 shares of the bank’s stock worth $383,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 26,260 shares of the bank’s stock worth $657,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,309 shares of the bank’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,903 shares of the bank’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FFBC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut First Financial Bancorp. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Stephens began coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Friday, March 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Hovde Group increased their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.00.

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.