Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 491,232 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,449 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $12,394,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FFBC. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the second quarter valued at $96,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the third quarter worth $149,000. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FFBC opened at $27.09 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $2.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.68 and a beta of 1.01. First Financial Bancorp. has a fifty-two week low of $20.59 and a fifty-two week high of $31.18.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 18.55% and a return on equity of 10.32%. The company had revenue of $302.82 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $214.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is currently 41.38%.

Insider Activity at First Financial Bancorp.

In other news, 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. This trade represents a 13.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 4,068 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.01, for a total value of $122,080.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 70,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,120,266.52. This represents a 5.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,700 shares of company stock worth $335,429. 2.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens upgraded shares of First Financial Bancorp. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

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.