First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) saw a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,640,000 shares, a growth of 10.1% from the November 30th total of 1,490,000 shares. Approximately 1.8% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 431,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.8 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of FFBC stock opened at $26.98 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.63 and a beta of 1.01. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1-year low of $20.59 and a 1-year 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. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.78.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $302.82 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $214.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.53 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is 41.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 4,068 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.01, for a total transaction of $122,080.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 70,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,120,266.52. The trade was a 5.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider James R. Shank sold 3,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.34, for a total transaction of $97,458.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $404,951.16. This trade represents a 19.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,700 shares of company stock worth $335,429 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Financial Bancorp.

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 2,976.9% during the third quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the bank’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 1,935 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the second quarter worth approximately $96,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the third quarter worth approximately $149,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Company 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.