First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 4,242,256 shares, a growth of 21.5% from the March 15th total of 3,490,452 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 886,103 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.8 days. Approximately 4.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Financial Bancorp. news, insider Gregory A. Harris sold 1,821 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.43, for a total transaction of $53,592.03. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 42,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,248,744.33. The trade was a 4.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Richard S. Dennen sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.20, for a total transaction of $604,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 61,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,868,051.20. This represents a 24.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 32,141 shares of company stock worth $969,429. 1.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC bought a new position in First Financial Bancorp. during the third quarter worth $25,000. MAI Capital Management boosted its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 530.6% during the third quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,545 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased 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 currently owned by institutional investors.

First Financial Bancorp. Stock Performance

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

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.02. First Financial Bancorp. had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 10.77%. The business had revenue of $251.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $249.00 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.71 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. First Financial Bancorp.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.59%.

First Financial Bancorp. Company Profile

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.