First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Position Lessened by Frazier Financial Advisors LLC

Frazier Financial Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,597 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 2,264 shares during the period. First Financial Bancorp. comprises approximately 0.4% of Frazier Financial Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $494,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 115.9% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 58,070 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,264,000 after buying an additional 31,170 shares during the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 6.8% during the first quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 625,822 shares of the bank’s stock worth $14,031,000 after buying an additional 39,870 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the second quarter worth $300,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 63.9% during the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 1,732 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 10.1% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 33,425 shares of the bank’s stock worth $743,000 after buying an additional 3,067 shares during the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Up 0.1 %

FFBC stock opened at $29.10 on Friday. First Financial Bancorp. has a twelve month low of $19.92 and a twelve month high of $30.11. The company has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a PE ratio of 12.54 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.48. 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 announced 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. The firm had revenue of $302.82 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $214.00 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 18.55% and a return on equity of 10.32%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is 41.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 932 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $27,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 74,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,241,600. The trade was a 1.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Claude E. Davis sold 29,000 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.60, for a total transaction of $771,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 53,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,425,121.60. This trade represents a 35.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 36,632 shares of company stock worth $984,748 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on FFBC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th.

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.