Thomas Murray Obrien Sells 7,383 Shares of First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Stock

Key Points

• Director Thomas Murray Obrien sold 7,383 shares of First Financial Bancorp. at an average price of $26.54, totaling approximately $195,944.82, which reduces his ownership by 13.71%.
• First Financial Bancorp. recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.25 per share, with a dividend yield of 3.8%, to be paid on September 15th.
• After exceeding analysts' expectations, the company reported a quarterly EPS of $0.74 and revenue of $226.3 million, leading to expectations of a full-year EPS of 2.64.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) Director Thomas Murray Obrien sold 7,383 shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.54, for a total value of $195,944.82. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 46,480 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,233,579.20. The trade was a 13.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Down 0.1%

FFBC stock traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $26.52. The stock had a trading volume of 72,277 shares, compared to its average volume of 412,373. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market cap of $2.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.61 and a beta of 0.98. First Financial Bancorp. has a twelve month low of $21.10 and a twelve month high of $31.18.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $226.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $219.95 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 19.41%.During the same period last year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This is an increase from First Financial Bancorp.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. First Financial Bancorp.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Financial Bancorp.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 58,585 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 10,923 shares of the bank's stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the bank's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 43.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,522 shares of the bank's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC raised its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 9,041 shares of the bank's stock valued at $226,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on FFBC. Hovde Group began coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They set a "hold" rating and a $27.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $28.00 target price (up from $27.00) on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Financial Bancorp. currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $29.40.

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.

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