Versor Investments LP Sells 25,400 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. $FFBC

Versor Investments LP trimmed its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 38.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 41,342 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 25,400 shares during the quarter. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $1,044,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Horizon Corp purchased a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Bogart Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 2,741.3% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,790 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 1,727 shares during the period. Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 21.3% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,670 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. 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 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.20, for a total value of $604,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 61,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,051.20. The trade was a 24.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Gregory A. Harris sold 1,821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.43, for a total transaction of $53,592.03. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 42,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,248,744.33. This trade represents a 4.12% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 44,821 shares of company stock valued at $1,273,992. 1.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Up 0.8%

NASDAQ FFBC opened at $31.16 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.59. First Financial Bancorp. has a twelve month low of $21.10 and a twelve month high of $31.36. The company has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.71 and a beta of 1.00.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $251.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $249.00 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.77% and a net margin of 20.30%.During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.71 EPS. Research analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FFBC. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $28.00 target price (down previously from $30.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, October 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research downgraded First Financial Bancorp. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings raised First Financial Bancorp. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.50.

First Financial Bancorp. 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.