First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Shares Acquired by Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 37.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,251 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,726 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of FFBC. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings 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 worth $7,526,000 after purchasing an additional 164,105 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 162.4% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 242,187 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,381,000 after purchasing an additional 149,896 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 140.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 190,742 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,812,000 after purchasing an additional 111,309 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,792,000. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,013,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FFBC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stephens raised First Financial Bancorp. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th.

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 stock was 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 in the company, valued at $565,067.49. This represents a 13.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 932 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $27,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 74,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,241,600. This trade represents a 1.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,700 shares of company stock worth $335,429 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

Shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock opened at $27.95 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.38. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12 month low of $20.59 and a 12 month high of $31.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.05 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $302.82 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About First Financial Bancorp.

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.