Invesco Ltd. Grows Stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Free Report) by 98.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 447,824 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 221,683 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned 0.47% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $12,038,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of FFBC. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 221.9% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,717 shares of the bank's stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,873 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 82.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,150 shares of the bank's stock worth $138,000 after acquiring an additional 2,333 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company's stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

FFBC stock traded down $1.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $22.93. 710,024 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 419,049. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.55 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $24.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.56. First Financial Bancorp. has a 12 month low of $20.59 and a 12 month high of $31.18.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63. The firm had revenue of $201.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $214.80 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 18.67% and a return on equity of 10.52%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. First Financial Bancorp.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $33.00 price target on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a report on Friday, January 24th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider James R. Shank sold 7,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.92, for a total value of $189,392.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $277,633.72. The trade was a 40.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.