Denali Advisors LLC Increases Stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Denali Advisors LLC grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 37.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 214,600 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 58,600 shares during the quarter. First Financial Bancorp. comprises about 1.4% of Denali Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Denali Advisors LLC’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $4,811,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in FFBC. Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 10.0% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 29,376 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $576,000 after acquiring an additional 2,678 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 3.7% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 45,389 shares of the bank’s stock worth $890,000 after purchasing an additional 1,622 shares during the last quarter. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the fourth quarter worth about $101,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,993 shares of the bank’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the fourth quarter worth about $290,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.64, for a total value of $248,220.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 93,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,202,113.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $24.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Tuesday, April 9th.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Down 2.2 %

First Financial Bancorp. stock traded down $0.49 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $21.83. 169,219 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 335,253. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12 month low of $17.23 and a 12 month high of $24.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $22.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.32. The company has a market cap of $2.08 billion, a PE ratio of 8.80 and a beta of 1.01.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.59. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 20.74% and a return on equity of 11.22%. The company had revenue of $287.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $201.79 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.76 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.21%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 3rd. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is 37.10%.

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.