Choreo LLC Cuts Position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Choreo LLC lessened its stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 13.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 111,647 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 17,190 shares during the quarter. Choreo LLC owned 0.12% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $3,009,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in FFBC. State Street Corp increased its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,643,440 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $117,154,000 after acquiring an additional 39,655 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,271,990 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $57,333,000 after acquiring an additional 34,977 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,282,349 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,354,000 after acquiring an additional 23,472 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 491,232 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,394,000 after acquiring an additional 20,449 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 21.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 295,967 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,006,000 after acquiring an additional 52,739 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FFBC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, January 27th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $33.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

FFBC opened at $29.04 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1 year low of $20.59 and a 1 year high of $31.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.77 billion, a PE ratio of 12.10 and a beta of 1.02.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.06. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 18.67% and a return on equity of 10.52%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.62 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 4,068 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.01, for a total transaction of $122,080.68. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 70,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,120,266.52. The trade was a 5.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.

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.