Amalgamated Bank Lowers Holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Amalgamated Bank trimmed its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 28,094 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,031 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $709,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FFBC. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 76.6% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 46,793 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,049,000 after purchasing an additional 20,299 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 63,715 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,428,000 after purchasing an additional 5,773 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 19,020 shares of the bank’s stock worth $426,000 after purchasing an additional 1,307 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 115.9% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 58,070 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,264,000 after buying an additional 31,170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 6.8% in the first quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 625,822 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,031,000 after buying an additional 39,870 shares during the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 932 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $27,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,241,600. The trade was a 1.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider James R. Shank sold 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.34, for a total value of $97,458.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $404,951.16. The trade was a 19.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 36,632 shares of company stock valued at $984,748 in the last three months. 2.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

FFBC stock opened at $29.10 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $25.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.54 and a beta of 0.99. First Financial Bancorp. has a 52-week low of $19.92 and a 52-week high of $30.11.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.32% and a net margin of 18.55%. The company had revenue of $302.82 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $214.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is 41.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FFBC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th.

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.