First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Shares Sold by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Public Sector Pension Investment Board cut its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 3.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 202,604 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 7,400 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned 0.21% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $5,112,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 2,976.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 1,935 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 23.1% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,340 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the second quarter worth about $77,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the second quarter valued at about $96,000. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

First Financial Bancorp. stock opened at $29.53 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $2.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.73 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.91. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1 year low of $20.07 and a 1 year high of $31.18.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.32% and a net margin of 18.55%. The company had revenue of $302.82 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $214.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Financial Bancorp.

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 4,068 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.01, for a total value of $122,080.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 70,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,120,266.52. This trade represents a 5.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Scott T. Crawley sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.31, for a total value of $87,930.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,279 shares in the company, valued at $565,067.49. This represents a 13.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,700 shares of company stock valued at $335,429 in the last three months. 2.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.