SG Americas Securities LLC Trims Stock Position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

SG Americas Securities LLC decreased its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 30.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,913 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 3,395 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $200,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of FFBC. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 94.0% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 338,711 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,526,000 after buying an additional 164,105 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 162.4% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 242,187 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,381,000 after buying an additional 149,896 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,939,804 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $259,820,000 after buying an additional 91,126 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 41.1% in the 2nd quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 302,700 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,726,000 after buying an additional 88,100 shares during the period. Finally, Choreo LLC increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 176.3% in the 2nd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 127,326 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,820,000 after buying an additional 81,245 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FFBC. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FFBC opened at $25.30 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.20 and a beta of 0.99. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52 week low of $17.23 and a 52 week high of $28.25. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $25.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $314.22 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $203.50 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 19.67% and a return on equity of 10.69%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at First Financial Bancorp.

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider Claude E. Davis sold 29,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.60, for a total value of $771,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 53,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,425,121.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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.