First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Short Interest Up 21.5% in March

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 21.5% in March to 4,242,256 shares (about 4.1% of shares short), leaving a days-to-cover ratio of 4.8 days.
• First Financial beat the quarter with $0.80 EPS (vs. $0.78 est.) and $251.3M revenue, the stock trades at a PE of 10.88 with a $3.03B market cap and pays a $0.25 quarterly dividend (3.5% yield).
• Insiders sold 32,141 shares in the past 90 days (including 20,000 by Richard S. Dennen), while analysts hold a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with a $31.17 target.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 4,242,256 shares, an increase of 21.5% from the March 15th total of 3,490,452 shares. Currently, 4.1% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 886,103 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.8 days.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Down 0.5%

First Financial Bancorp. stock opened at $28.94 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $28.53 and a 200-day moving average of $26.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. First Financial Bancorp. has a twelve month low of $22.07 and a twelve month high of $31.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a PE ratio of 10.88 and a beta of 0.94.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $251.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $249.00 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 10.77%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.71 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.'s payout ratio is 37.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on FFBC. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on First Financial Bancorp. from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Stephens initiated coverage on First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday, March 27th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. Hovde Group boosted their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded First Financial Bancorp. from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, First Financial Bancorp. has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $31.17.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.20, for a total value of $604,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 61,856 shares in the company, valued at $1,868,051.20. This trade represents a 24.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Gregory A. Harris sold 1,821 shares of the business'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 transaction of $53,592.03. Following the transaction, the insider owned 42,431 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,248,744.33. This represents a 4.12% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 32,141 shares of company stock valued at $969,429 in the last ninety days. 1.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. First Horizon Corp bought a new stake in First Financial Bancorp. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 137.6% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 991 shares of the bank's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. MAI Capital Management grew its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 530.6% during the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,545 shares of the bank's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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