Blue Trust Inc. Has $212,000 Stock Holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 151.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,395 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,055 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EntryPoint Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 63.9% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 1,732 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $77,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the second quarter worth approximately $96,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the second quarter worth $169,000. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC bought a new position in First Financial Bancorp. in the 1st quarter valued at about $207,000. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FFBC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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 report on Monday, July 29th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction of $771,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 53,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,425,121.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Down 4.1 %

NASDAQ FFBC opened at $24.38 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.83 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s fifty day moving average is $25.35 and its 200-day moving average is $23.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. First Financial Bancorp. has a one year low of $17.34 and a one year high of $28.25.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 19.67% and a return on equity of 10.69%. The firm had revenue of $302.82 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $214.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.58 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.94%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.71%.

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.