First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Shares Sold by Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC – Get Rating) by 12.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 28,010 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 4,067 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $679,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 80.7% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,756 shares of the bank’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 784 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the second quarter worth approximately $82,000. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC purchased a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $110,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 290.6% in the third quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 4,722 shares of the bank’s stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 3,513 shares during the period. Finally, Advisor Group Holdings Inc. grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 27.4% in the first quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 5,273 shares of the bank’s stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 1,134 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FFBC has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $24.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Friday, April 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 6th.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Up 3.3 %

FFBC opened at $19.64 on Tuesday. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52 week low of $17.99 and a 52 week high of $26.72. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.34. The firm has a market cap of $1.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.52 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 21st. The bank reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.06. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 12.18% and a net margin of 27.92%. The firm had revenue of $264.12 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $202.70 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. First Financial Bancorp.’s revenue was up 70.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 31st. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.68%. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is 35.25%.

First Financial Bancorp. Company Profile

(Get Rating)

First Financial Bancorp operates as a bank holding company. The firm operates through its wholly owned subsidiary, First Financial Bank, which engages in the provision of commercial banking, financial and other related activities. It operates through the following business lines: Commercial, Retail Banking, Mortgage Banking, Wealth Management, Investment Commercial Real Estate, and Commercial Finance.