Victory Capital Management Inc. Lowers Holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 9.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 308,662 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 30,829 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.32% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $7,788,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its holdings 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 lifted 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 worth $50,000 after buying an additional 1,935 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 23.1% in the 2nd 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. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the second quarter valued at about $77,000. 77.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Scott T. Crawley sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.31, for a total value of $87,930.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $565,067.49. This represents a 13.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Claude E. Davis sold 29,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.60, for a total value of $771,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 53,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,425,121.60. The trade was a 35.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 36,632 shares of company stock valued at $984,748. Insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FFBC opened at $29.36 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $26.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.63. 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 $2.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.66 and a beta of 0.99.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $302.82 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $214.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.27%. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is currently 41.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FFBC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on 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.

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.