Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP Increases Stock Position in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC)

Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP grew its stake in First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) by 29.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,932 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 4,505 shares during the period. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP’s holdings in First Financial Bancorp. were worth $503,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.8% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 26,617 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $591,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Souders Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 72,038 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,818,000 after buying an additional 617 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,525 shares of the bank’s stock worth $316,000 after buying an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in First Financial Bancorp. by 23.1% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,340 shares of the bank’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its position in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.9% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 48,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of FFBC opened at $29.82 on Wednesday. First Financial Bancorp. has a fifty-two week low of $19.92 and a fifty-two week high of $31.18. The firm has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.85 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $26.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $302.82 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $214.00 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.32% and a net margin of 18.55%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is currently 41.38%.

Insider Transactions at First Financial Bancorp.

In related news, insider James R. Shank sold 3,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.34, for a total transaction of $97,458.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,374 shares in the company, valued at $404,951.16. The trade was a 19.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Claude E. Davis sold 29,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.60, for a total value of $771,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 53,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,425,121.60. The trade was a 35.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 40,700 shares of company stock worth $1,106,829. Insiders own 2.04% of the company’s stock.

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.