Comerica Bank Trims Stock Holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Comerica Bank decreased its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,545 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 528 shares during the period. Comerica Bank owned 0.05% of First Financial Bancorp. worth $1,305,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 68.9% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,502 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,873 shares during the period. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co bought a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on FFBC. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of First Financial Bancorp. from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of First Financial Bancorp. stock opened at $24.07 on Monday. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1 year low of $20.59 and a 1 year high of $31.18. The firm has a market cap of $2.29 billion, a PE ratio of 10.03 and a beta of 0.94. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.45.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.63. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 18.67% and a return on equity of 10.52%. The business had revenue of $201.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $214.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.59 earnings per share. First Financial Bancorp.’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.99%. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is 39.83%.

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bancorp.

In other news, insider James R. Shank sold 7,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.92, for a total value of $189,392.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $277,633.72. The trade was a 40.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.

About First Financial Bancorp.

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.