Intech Investment Management LLC Increases Position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 41.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,470 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,320 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $542,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FFBC. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. during the third quarter valued at $2,013,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 73.1% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 153,281 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,867,000 after acquiring an additional 64,745 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 14.9% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 28,862 shares of the bank’s stock worth $728,000 after acquiring an additional 3,747 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 5.4% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 293,712 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,410,000 after acquiring an additional 14,922 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP raised its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 62.9% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 80,853 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,040,000 after acquiring an additional 31,225 shares during the period. 77.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

Shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock opened at $29.53 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.73 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.91. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12 month low of $20.07 and a 12 month high of $31.18. 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 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 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 in the previous year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.53 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 4,068 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.01, for a total transaction of $122,080.68. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 70,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,120,266.52. This represents a 5.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through 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 transaction, the insider now owns 19,279 shares in the company, valued at $565,067.49. The trade was a 13.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,700 shares of company stock valued at $335,429 over the last quarter. 2.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.