First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $33.99 and last traded at $33.98, with a volume of 101998 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $33.90.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on FFBC. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Monday, June 8th. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Friday, March 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of First Financial Bancorp. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, First Financial Bancorp. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.33.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a PE ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a 50 day moving average of $31.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is 35.34%.

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bancorp.

In other news, CFO James M. Anderson sold 4,263 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $127,890.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 118,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,556,110. This represents a 3.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Claude E. Davis sold 26,123 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.45, for a total transaction of $795,445.35. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $925,984.50. This trade represents a 46.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 41,126 shares of company stock valued at $1,255,501 in the last three months. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 557.5% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,042,913 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,956,000 after purchasing an additional 1,732,223 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the first quarter valued at $34,058,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 194.9% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,248,076 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,227,000 after acquiring an additional 824,920 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 6.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,617,522 shares of the bank’s stock worth $184,493,000 after acquiring an additional 374,373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 67.2% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 907,478 shares of the bank’s stock worth $22,705,000 after acquiring an additional 364,597 shares during the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Financial Bancorp. Company Profile

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.