First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,580,000 shares, an increase of 5.3% from the August 31st total of 1,500,000 shares. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 429,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th.

Insider Activity at First Financial Bancorp.

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider Claude E. Davis sold 29,000 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.60, for a total transaction of $771,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 53,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,425,121.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Financial Bancorp.

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 23.9% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 305,942 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,917,000 after purchasing an additional 58,963 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 115.9% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 58,070 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,264,000 after buying an additional 31,170 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division raised its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 17.8% in the first quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 1,038,758 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $23,289,000 after buying an additional 157,190 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. during the 1st quarter worth about $752,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 76.6% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 46,793 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,049,000 after acquiring an additional 20,299 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Down 3.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ FFBC traded down $0.86 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $24.37. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 342,849 shares, compared to its average volume of 366,215. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.88 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.45. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1 year low of $17.23 and a 1 year high of $28.25.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 19.67% and a return on equity of 10.69%. The company had revenue of $314.22 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $203.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.72 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.58 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 2nd were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This is an increase from First Financial Bancorp.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.94%. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is currently 38.71%.

First Financial Bancorp. Company 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.