Stifel Financial Corp Has $702,000 Stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Stifel Financial Corp reduced its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,837 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 676 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $702,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 0.9% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,732,162 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $149,587,000 after buying an additional 60,612 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,282,349 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,354,000 after purchasing an additional 23,472 shares during the period. First Financial Bank Trust Division increased its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 901,908 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $22,755,000 after purchasing an additional 36,679 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 491,232 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,394,000 after purchasing an additional 20,449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 94.0% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 338,711 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,526,000 after purchasing an additional 164,105 shares during the period. 77.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

Shares of FFBC opened at $27.40 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.62 billion, a PE ratio of 11.81 and a beta of 1.01. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52-week low of $20.59 and a 52-week high of $31.18. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $27.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.65. 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 released its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $302.82 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $214.00 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 18.55% and a return on equity of 10.32%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.67 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.53 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FFBC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens upgraded First Financial Bancorp. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider James R. Shank sold 3,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.34, for a total value of $97,458.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,374 shares in the company, valued at $404,951.16. This trade represents a 19.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Scott T. Crawley sold 3,000 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.31, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 13.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,700 shares of company stock worth $335,429 in the last three months. Company insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.

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.