Insider Selling: First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Director Sells $22,866.00 in Stock

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Director Dawn Morris sold 740 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.90, for a total value of $22,866.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 9,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $295,033.20. This trade represents a 7.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

First Financial Bancorp. stock opened at $30.76 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $29.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.77. First Financial Bancorp. has a one year low of $22.93 and a one year high of $31.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a PE ratio of 10.87 and a beta of 0.93.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on FFBC shares. Truist Financial lifted their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered First Financial Bancorp. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Stephens started coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Friday, March 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $34.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Financial Bancorp. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,504,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the 4th quarter worth about $936,000. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lifted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 47.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 559,488 shares of the bank’s stock worth $14,127,000 after buying an additional 180,575 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 174.7% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 72,244 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,808,000 after buying an additional 45,943 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,309,205 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,756,000 after buying an additional 42,116 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

About First Financial Bancorp.

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.