Amalgamated Bank Sells 1,031 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Amalgamated Bank trimmed its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 3.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,094 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,031 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $709,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the third quarter worth about $28,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 63.9% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 1,732 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 2,976.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the bank’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,935 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 23.1% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,340 shares of the bank’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the 2nd quarter worth $77,000. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock opened at $29.10 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $25.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.46. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52-week low of $19.92 and a 52-week high of $30.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.54 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $302.82 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $214.00 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.32% and a net margin of 18.55%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.53 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.38%.

Insider Activity

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 932 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $27,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,720 shares in the company, valued at $2,241,600. The trade was a 1.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Claude E. Davis sold 29,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now owns 53,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,425,121.60. This represents a 35.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 36,632 shares of company stock worth $984,748 over the last three months. 2.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FFBC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of 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.

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.