First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) CEO Sells $308,200.00 in Stock

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) CEO Archie Brown sold 11,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.80, for a total transaction of $308,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 229,391 shares in the company, valued at $6,147,678.80. This represents a 4.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ:FFBC traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $26.64. 656,932 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 453,804. The firm has a market cap of $2.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.87 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.91. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52-week low of $21.10 and a 52-week high of $29.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The bank reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $234.01 million during the quarter. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 20.64% and a return on equity of 10.72%. As a group, analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on FFBC shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Monday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Hovde Group began coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective (down previously from $30.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, First Financial Bancorp. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bogart Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the third quarter worth $25,000. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. MAI Capital Management grew its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 530.6% during the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,545 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position 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 worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 1,727 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,000. 77.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About First Financial Bancorp.

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.