Edgestream Partners L.P. Acquires Shares of 110,651 First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 110,651 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $2,792,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the 3rd quarter worth about $226,000. Martingale Asset Management L P bought a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the 3rd quarter worth about $931,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 226,660 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,719,000 after buying an additional 2,820 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 36,760 shares of the bank’s stock worth $927,000 after buying an additional 7,331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 397.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 73,750 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,861,000 after buying an additional 58,935 shares during the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Down 0.6 %

First Financial Bancorp. stock opened at $29.53 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1 year low of $20.07 and a 1 year high of $31.18. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $26.66 and its 200-day moving average is $24.91. The company has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.73 and a beta of 0.99.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $302.82 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $214.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.67 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 4,068 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were 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 approximately $2,120,266.52. This trade represents a 5.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider James R. Shank sold 3,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.34, for a total transaction of $97,458.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $404,951.16. The trade was a 19.40 % 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 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.04% 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.