First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Short Interest Update

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 3,675,017 shares, an increase of 57.2% from the January 15th total of 2,337,746 shares. Approximately 3.8% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,551,215 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days. Based on an average trading volume of 1,551,215 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days. Approximately 3.8% of the company’s stock are sold short.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

First Financial Bancorp. stock traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $30.31. The company had a trading volume of 606,578 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,182,636. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market cap of $2.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.39 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $27.13 and a 200-day moving average of $25.73. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52 week low of $21.10 and a 52 week high of $31.38.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $251.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $249.00 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.77% and a net margin of 20.30%.During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider Gregory A. Harris sold 1,821 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.43, for a total value of $53,592.03. Following the transaction, the insider owned 42,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,248,744.33. This represents a 4.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Archie M. Brown sold 11,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.80, for a total transaction of $308,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 229,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,147,678.80. The trade was a 4.77% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 44,821 shares of company stock valued at $1,273,992. Corporate insiders own 1.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Financial Bancorp.

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bogart Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the third quarter valued at $25,000. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. MAI Capital Management lifted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 530.6% during the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,545 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 38.7% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,743 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 2,741.3% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,790 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 1,727 shares in the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on FFBC. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Hovde Group raised their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $28.00 target price (down from $30.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, October 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.50.

About First Financial Bancorp.

First Financial Bancorp (NASDAQ: FFBC) is a bank holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the parent of First Financial Bank. The company provides a comprehensive suite of commercial and consumer banking services through a network of more than 100 full-service banking centers and mortgage offices across Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. Its core mission centers on delivering personalized relationship banking to businesses, individuals and public sector clients.

First Financial Bank’s product portfolio includes deposit solutions such as checking, savings and money market accounts, alongside a range of lending offerings that cover commercial and industrial loans, real estate and construction financing, home mortgages and home equity lines of credit.