Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 20,449 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 4.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 491,232 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,449 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.51% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $12,394,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the third quarter worth $28,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 63.9% during the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 1,732 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 2,976.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the bank’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,935 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 23.1% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,340 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $77,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Up 0.1 %

First Financial Bancorp. stock opened at $29.10 on Friday. First Financial Bancorp. has a fifty-two week low of $19.92 and a fifty-two week high of $30.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.48. The stock has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a PE ratio of 12.54 and a beta of 0.99.

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

First Financial Bancorp. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.30%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.38%.

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bancorp.

In other news, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 932 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $27,960.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 74,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,241,600. This represents a 1.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Scott T. Crawley sold 3,000 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.31, for a total value of $87,930.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $565,067.49. This trade represents a 13.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 36,632 shares of company stock worth $984,748 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on FFBC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target 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.